Through Sam's Eyes: Alien Alert
by CarsWorldFan
Summary: This is the third story in a three part series. After Pontypandy is inundated with UFO sighting, the little seaside town becomes the centre of attention. However, not everyone believes that aliens have landed. SPOILER ALERT! Contains scenes from the movie, and the ending. Note: Since I'm Australian, I've used the UK version of the movie.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

 **SPOILER ALERT! Contains scenes and spoilers from Alien Alert: The Movie.**

Chapter 1

" _I'm telling you, Sam, I saw a real UFO! It had lights, and it flew right past me!_ "

I exhaled heavily, hoping that my brother couldn't hear me over the phone. _Not again, Charlie! This is the third apparent UFO you've spotted this week!_

I was sitting at my computer inside the fire station's Main Room. While it wasn't private, unlike Station Officer Steele's desk in the Control Room, it was a vast improvement on what I used to have. Even since the new fire station had been built a year ago, I'd started to wonder how I'd ever managed before I'd been given a space of my own. You see, even though I am on the front line during emergencies as lead fireman, I now also sometimes take on the role of a Sub Officer. Although that role is unofficial because the Pontypandy fire service is so small, in many ways it is slowly preparing me to take over as Station Officer, when the time comes, of course. Unfortunately, my increasing responsibilities also mean a vast increase in the amount of paperwork I have to do. Tonight, I had a mountain of reports I needed to scan into the computer system, so they could be emailed to HQ. I was about a third of the way through the reports, when Charlie had phoned. I thought it had been a minor emergency. Instead, he'd just told me all about another UFO he'd seen.

"That's great, Charlie," I muttered as I picked up another report from the pile, and placed it into the scanner. "Perhaps you should try and get a photo of it next time?"

I heard a soft 'slap', and I guessed that Charlie had face-palmed himself. " _A photo! Of course! Now, why didn't I think of that?_ "

 _Because you were too busy chasing after lights in the sky?_ "Listen, Charlie, I-"

" _Why don't you come out with me tomorrow night, Sam, and then I can show you that I'm not making this up?_ "

"I never said you were Charlie. Now, listen. I-"

At that moment, the station's alarms went off. I automatically leapt to my feet.

"Sorry, Charlie, but I have to go. Emergency."

I hung up my mobile phone without giving him a chance to reply. After I'd thrust the phone into my pocket, I ran towards the nearest fireman's pole. Penny was right behind me.

" _Norman Price has fallen into the river, and is being swept downstream!_ " Station Officer Steele announced over the loudspeakers as I slid down the pole. Elvis slid down the other pole, and he ran over to us.

While I put on my firefighting uniform over my station uniform, I quickly decided which vehicles we'd need for this rescue. As soon as I had my uniform on, I glanced at the vehicle selection board on the wall. Station Officer Steele had selected Venus, Hydrus and Saturn as the vehicles for us to take. All the data from the vehicle selection was sent straight to HQ, for their records, so it was important to only take the vehicles selected on the board.

"I'll take Hydrus," I said as I clipped on my helmet. "Penny? Elvis? You follow in Venus!"

"Rodger that, Sam!" Penny and Elvis replied in unison as they ran towards Venus.

I ran over to Hydrus, and I climbed in. Once I'd put on my life-vest, I drove Hydrus out of the garage. Venus quickly caught up, and together, we headed out of town towards the old mill. It was a foggy night, so I knew we'd definitely need to use Saturn.

"You head up to the bridge and launch Saturn," I instructed Penny and Elvis over the radio. "I'll head downstream. We can use Saturn's heat-seeking cameras to look for his body heat," I added as I turned Hydrus off the main road.

A moment later, I drove Hydrus straight into the river, and I let her drift downstream with the current. _It's quite a strong current. I hope Norman hasn't drifted too far downstream._

" _Launching Saturn now, Sam_ ," Penny informed me over the radio.

As I drove Hydrus further downstream, I keep my eyes peeled, looking for any signs of Norman. Then, Penny radioed me again.

" _We can see him, Sam! He's just upstream, and heading towards you!_ "

I turned Hydrus around. There was still no sign of Norman. "I still can't see him," I reported via the radio.

" _He's grabbed a branch, Sam_ ," Elvis said. " _Just ahead of you._ "

I drove Hydrus back upstream. Sure enough, there was Norman, clinging desperately to an overhanging tree branch. I drove towards him.

"I see him!" And I put my radio down. "I'm coming, Norman!"

"I can't hold on!" Norman panted as I got closer. "My hands are slipping!" He let go of the branch, and he started to drift back into the current. "Heeelp!"

I drove Hydrus around in front of Norman, to stop him floating any further downstream.

"Heelp!" Norman screamed again, just as I grabbed hold of him.

"I've got him!" I radioed to Penny and Elvis as I pulled him safely aboard Hydrus with my left arm. "Norman is safe and sound!"

I pushed Norman onto the backseat. "There's a life-vest under the seat, Norman," I told him. "Put it on, please."

"Yes, Fireman Sam," Norman replied, and he did so.

I started to drive Hydrus back upstream. "How on earth did you end up in the river anyway?"

"I saw a flying-saucer! It was huge! And it had blinking coloured lights and everything!"

 _Oh, dear! Not another one!_

"And then I tripped over the edge of the bridge, and I fell into the river," Norman added quietly.

"You should always watch where you're going, Norman, especially in the dark."

"I know, Fireman Sam."

I drove Hydrus on to the riverbank near the mill. Penny looked like she was helping Dilys stand up.

"Is Dilys all right?" I asked Penny as I parked Hydrus behind Venus.

"She's fine, Sam," Penny replied. "She just fainted, that's all."

I helped Norman get down from Hydrus, and I removed his life-vest. "Why did you stop here, Dilys?" I wondered. "Did you see the flying-saucer too?"

Dilys looked confused. "What flying-saucer?"

"The one I was telling you about while you were looking for the torch!" Norman exclaimed. "It was hovering right above our car!"

"Norman Price!" Dilys scolded. "That is quite enough! There's no way you could have seen a flying-saucer! Now, get back inside the car and wait while I see if I can figure out what's wrong with it."

"Having car trouble then, Dilys?" I asked.

"Uh, well, yes, Sam. It just stopped, and I don't know why."

"I'll take a look at it," Penny offered, and she made her way around to the front of the car. I went over to Venus to fetch a heavy-duty torch.

"Oh, no, it's quite all right," Dilys insisted. "Norman and I were just going to walk to Aunty Phyllis'."

"I wouldn't advise that, Dilys," I said, as I held the torch up, so that Penny could see the car's engine bay properly. "It's too foggy tonight for you to be walking out on the road."

"Yes, we don't want to have to rescue you, as well as Norman," Penny added. "Well, I can't see anything wrong with the engine. You'll have to get Joe to take a look at it, I'm afraid."

 _Knowing Dilys, it's probably something simple, like..._ "When did you last refill it, Dilys?"

"Refill it?"

"Yes. With fuel."

"Oh! Um...well... I think it was a while ago..."

I chuckled. "Elvis? Can you fetch the spare fuel can from Venus, please? Don't worry, Dilys. We'll soon have you back on your way again."

"Oh, thank you, Fireman Sam!" Dilys said gratefully. She looked around. "Now, where has Norman got to?"

"I'm in the car, mum!" Norman replied. "Like you told me to."

"Oh! But you're all wet! Get out of the car now, Norman!"

"Make up your mind, mum!" Norman complained as he got out again.

"I'll go and fetch a blanket for him," Penny offered.

Elvis handed me the fuel can, and I started pouring the fuel into the fuel tank. Penny wrapped a blanket around Norman's shoulders.

"Stay out of the river from now on," she advised.

"There we go!" I said once the fuel can had drained. "Try starting the car now, Dilys."

Dilys turned the key, and the car stuttered into life. "It works! Oh! Thank you, Fireman Sam! Now, we can get to Auntie Phyllis'."

"Oh, mum!" Norman whined, and he folded his arms crossly. "Why can't we just go home?"

Penny, Elvis and I chuckled.

"We'll leave you to it now, Dilys," I said with a small wave. "Good luck!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 2

 _Ring! Ring! Ring!_

 _Oh dear! Not another interruption! I wish Charlie would stop seeing UFOs..._ I glanced at the screen on my mobile phone. _Oh, good! It's from Tom._

"Hi Tom! Is the surprise ready yet?"

Tom chuckled. " _Yes, it is, Sam! You can come and visit whenever you're ready. Station Officer Steele is already here. He's just completed his safety inspection._ "

"Excellent! I'll rally the rest of the team, and we'll head on up there straight away." I hung up my phone. Seeing the stack of papers still on my desk, I sighed despondently. _Guess that lot will just have to keep on waiting..._

I hurried downstairs to the Control Room, and I picked up the microphone. "Assembly drill in the garage now!" I ordered over the loudspeakers. Then, I continued downstairs to the garage.

Penny, Elvis, Arnold and Ellie were already waiting for me when I entered the garage.

"What's going on, Sam?" Penny wondered.

"Nothing much," I replied mysteriously. "Put on your firefighting uniforms, please. We're just going for a drive up into the mountains. I'll lead the way on Mercury. I have a little surprise to show you all."

"A surprise?" Ellie exclaimed excitedly as we put on our firefighting uniforms over our station uniform. "Lead on, Sam!"

I laughed. "Okay! Arnold and Ellie? You can take Jupiter, and Penny and Elvis can take Venus. Stay close to me, and don't activate the sirens. This isn't an emergency."

Before long, we were all ready to go. I drove Mercury at the speed limit out of town, and onto the windy, mountain road. We travelled up the mountain, heading towards the Mountain Rescue Centre. That's where the surprise was.

As we approached the building, I couldn't contain my smile any longer. The Mountain Rescue Centre was no longer a tiny little shack with a helipad alongside it. It had been completely upgraded and modernised, just like our fire station had been a year earlier. The new Mountain Rescue Centre was three stories tall, with the helipad on the roof.

I parked Mercury outside the building, and I waited until Jupiter and Venus had been parked before I dismounted the quad-bike. Tom and Station Officer Steele were waiting out the front for us. I exchanged my quad-bike helmet for my firefighting helmet before going over to them.

"G'day!" Tom greeted us warmly. "And welcome to my new headquarters!"

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "It's a big improvement on your old one, Tom."

"Yeah, I know! But this isn't the only improvement. Follow me!"

Tom escorted all of us inside, and he led the way upstairs to the third floor. When we emerged outside, the first thing we saw was a huge, shiny yellow search and rescue helicopter. It was about three times the size of Wallaby One.

"Meet and greet my big new beauty!" Tom said proudly as he walked over to the helicopter. "Wallaby Two!"

"She's amazing!" Ellie breathed in awe.

"And really shiny!" Elvis added.

Arnold peeked inside through the cockpit window. "And she has a comprehensive avionics suit, a multiband homing system, and a high-capacity water vessel."

Once again, Elvis looked very confused by Arnold's technological jargon, so I gave Elvis a friendly nudge with my elbow to get his attention. "Arnold means it's got a really good computer, and a big bucket, Elvis."

"The why didn't he just say that?" Elvis whispered behind his hand.

 _You'll have to ask him that one, Elvis._

"So, who wants to get on with the rest of the tour?" Tom asked. He disappeared back inside the building without giving us a chance to respond, so we all followed him.

Downstairs on the second floor, we entered the Control Room. Basically, it was a smaller version of our own back at the fire station, and it also had a Map Screen-700. _Great! I guess this will rapidly increase Tom's response time to emergencies._

"The control panel has been programmed with a map of the area," Tom explained proudly. He patted the console fondly. Clearly, he'd forgotten that we already knew how the system worked, but we were happy to let him gloat. He didn't often get the chance to play around with new technology the way we did.

Arnold ran over to the console. "Oh! It's got a fully integrated satellite navigation system."

 _Um, okay...! So, maybe it's a slightly newer version of our Map Screen-700..._

Elvis leaned closer to me. "He's doing it again!" he whispered with an air of annoyance.

"I can't wait to see how it all works!" Ellie said eagerly.

As if on cue, the screen started bleeping an alert. Arnold backed away, uncertain of what he should do.

"Looks like you're about to, Ellie," I said as I instinctively stepped forward to respond to the alert. "We've got an emergency!" I quickly stopped myself when Station Officer Steele stepped into my path, and he hurried over to the console. _Whoops! I didn't mean to pull rank on him! I forgot he was here. He'll probably tell me off for doing that, later._

Station Officer Steele pressed a button on the console.

"Forest fire reported near the mill bridge," the Map Screen-700 said.

"Forest fire reported near the mill bridge," Station Officer Steele repeated.

I took off running downstairs, followed closely by Penny, Elvis, Arnold and Ellie. Outside, the new alarms were already going off. I quickly swapped my firefighting helmet for my quad-bike helmet out of Mercury's locker, while the others scrambled into Jupiter and Venus. As soon as I was ready, I started up Mercury, and I set off down the road, followed by Venus and Jupiter. We'd just turned on our respective vehicles' sirens, when Tom flew by overhead in Wallaby Two. It was quite an impressive sight watching the huge helicopter fly on ahead of us.

I could already see the forest fire long before we'd even reached the mill bridge, and it was a big one. This was right where I'd rescued Norman the night before, but I knew he wouldn't have had anything to do with this. Despite its size, this fire had only recently ignited.

When we'd parked our vehicles as close as we safely could to the fire, I swapped helmets again as I dismounted from Mercury. Then, I ran around Jupiter to her left hand side. I was pleased to see that Ellie and Elvis had grabbed a couple of beaters from one of the lockers, and they were already hurrying towards the fire with them. Penny and Arnold had just started unrolling and connecting the hoses.

 _I love days like this when we all work as a team without me having to give any orders!_ I thought happily as I connected the second hose to Jupiter's outlet. _It sure makes my job nice and easy._

Elvis and Ellie started beating down the edge of the fire, while Penny and I started spraying it with water from the hoses. I quickly assessed the fire's situation.

"The wind is blowing to the east!" I informed the others. "It's spreading fast!"

" _Picking up a bucket full of water, and we'll be right with you, Sam,_ " Tom said over the radio. Since I needed to keep both hands on the hose, I wasn't able to reply, but I knew I didn't need to.

"Oh!" Ellie grunted tiredly as she and Elvis continued beating the flames. "It's spreading too quickly!"

I noticed that the water pressure in our hoses was beginning to drop. _Uh, oh! That's not a good sign..._

"Not much water left in the tank!" Arnold called from where he was standing next to Jupiter.

 _Right... I'll have to tell Arnold to prepare Venus' hoses. Hang on! Here comes Wallaby Two with the water!_ I turned off my hose, and Penny did the same. "Stand clear, everyone!" I ordered, and we all hurried back over to the vehicles.

As soon as we were all a safe distance away, Tom released the water from the bucket. The torrent immediately doused the entire fire in just one go! _Wow! Now I feel redundant!_

"I wouldn't have liked to have been under that!" Penny joked.

"That is one BIG bucket!" Ellie agreed.

We watched as Wallaby Two flew away back towards the Mountain Activity Centre.

"Nice work, Tom!" I radioed. "And welcome to the team, Wallaby Two!"

While the others packed up all the hoses and equipment, I radioed Station Officer Steele from Jupiter's cab. "Fireman Sam to Station Officer Steele. Over."

" _Reading you, Sam. What's the current situation? Over._ "

"The forest fire is out, sir, but there aren't any obvious signs as to what might have started it, so we'll investigate further before we leave. Over."

" _Okay, Sam. I'll meet you all back at the fire station for a debrief. Over._ "

"Roger that, sir. Out."

Sighing heaving, I took a clipboard and a blank incident report out of Jupiter's glove box. _You'd think that with all this technology, we'd have done away with paperwork by now. Instead, there just seems to be more of it!_

I'd just started filling in the report, when Penny walked over to the open cab door. "What now, Sam?"

"Tell Elvis to get the camera out of Venus, please," I replied without looking up from my paperwork. "We need to conduct an investigation into the cause of the fire before we head back to the station."

"Okay, Sam."

After Elvis had prepared the camera, we began walking around the area that the fire had burned, looking for clues as to the cause of it. Strangely, we couldn't find a single bit of evidence. There were no cigarette butts, no old glass bottles, and no signs of a campfire.

"I wonder what caused the fire?" Penny said as we started to make our way back to the vehicles.

"It doesn't look like there's been any campfires," Elvis added as he snapped some more photos for evidence.

I frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm... Very strange." I really wasn't looking forward to writing 'Fire's cause unknown' on the report sheet. HQ would start asking questions about our investigation methods if they saw that. _Oh well. There's nothing I can do about that until it happens, I suppose. At last we do have photographic evidence to prove that we could not find the cause._

...

"What do you mean you couldn't find the cause of the forest fire?" Station Officer Steele exclaimed as soon as we arrived back at the fire station. I had just told him what had happened as I'd climbed off Mercury.

I removed my quad-bike helmet. "I mean exactly what I said, sir," I replied as the others gathered around us. "We couldn't find the cause of the fire."

"Did you look?" Station Officer Steele exclaimed furiously.

I was a little taken aback by his outburst. If we'd been alone, I probably would've snapped right back at him, but since we were both the most senior officers in the fire station, I knew what a bad example it would set to the others if I lost my temper in front of them. I drew in a deep breath before I answered.

"With all due respect, sir, you were the one who taught me how to conduct fire investigations. I will have a full report on your desk before I go off-duty this evening, and you will be able to draw your own conclusions from that."

"Whatever you do, Sam, do NOT write 'cause unknown'!" Station Officer Steele ordered me firmly. "If you do, we'll have HQ come tumbling down upon us like a tonne of bricks!"

Unfortunately, that's when I lost my temper. "Station Officer Steele! I will do anything you order me, EXCEPT to deliberately lie to HQ! If the cause of the fire was unknown, that is exactly what I will put in my report!" Reaching over, I snatched Mercury's keys out of the ignition, and I thrust them into his hands. "If you don't believe me, you can take Mercury out there and see things for yourself!"

Station Officer Steele looked rather taken aback by my outburst. Then, he frowned sternly at me. "Or maybe, I should email Chief Fire Officer Boyce about having you demoted for speaking to me like that, Fireman Jones. I also seem to remember that you attempted to pull rank on me before too."

My colleagues gasped in shock.

"You can't do that, sir!" Penny exclaimed.

"We were all there, sir!" Arnold added. "None of us found anything that could've caused the fire! Unless, of course, the grass just decided to set itself on fire."

I snorted a laugh in spite of myself. Elvis held up his camera.

"You don't need to go out there, sir. I got heaps of photos to go into the report as well."

 _Thank you, Elvis!_

"And if you have Sam demoted, we'll all quit," Ellie added, crossing her arms firmly.

Station Officer Steele could clearly see that he was being outnumbered. He exhaled slowly in defeat. "I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just don't want anything bad to happen now that Pontypandy has the media focusing on it."

"The media?" Arnold gasped.

"But why on earth would the media care about Pontypandy?" Penny wondered.

"Oh, I know!" Elvis exclaimed. "It's because of all the UFO sightings around here, isn't it, sir?"

"Yes, Elvis, it is," Station Officer Steele answered tiredly. "I've just heard that a fellow by the name of Buck Douglas is coming here tomorrow to film for some weird space show called Alien Quest."

Elvis drew in a long gasp. "Buck Douglas is coming here? Really? Oh, I can't wait to meet him! I love Alien Quest!"

"Me too!" Arnold said, placing a hand on Elvis' shoulder. "This is going to be amazing! If we see a UFO, we'll get to be on TV!"

I rolled my eyes in disbelief. _And I'll be doing everything I can to avoid the cameras. Oh well. Guess I'd better go and finish filling out that report._

I snuck quietly away from my excited colleagues. Unfortunately, Station Officer Steele saw me, and he tapped on my shoulder just as I'd retrieved my report from Jupiter's cab.

"Sam? I really am sorry that I snapped at you in front of the others just now. I didn't mean to lose my temper like that."

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, sir. I'm sorry I lost my temper too. You aren't, er...going to email Chief Fire Officer Boyce, are you?"

"No, Sam. Not about that, anyway. Let's just pretend that it never happened, okay?"

"Yes, sir. Now, I need to finish that report, along with the massive pile I still have left on my desk!"

"Sam, you know you are allowed to delegate some of the paperwork if you find it's too much for you."

"I know, sir, but since I only have one scanner, it's faster if I do as much as I can in my limited spare time."

Station Officer Steele nodded. "Carry on then, Sam. Let me know when you've finished that report."

"I will, sir."

 **In response to 'Guest's' reviews: Alien Alert was first aired on ABC Kids in late October, and it was released on DVD in Australia in mid-November. I purchased it about 2 weeks after it was released. Based on that, I'm guessing the UK release was earlier than that. Since Wiki is a US website, it's only showing the US release date. We are lucky here in Australia, because we get to see all the awesome UK versions of kids TV shows, which, in my opinion, are 100x better than the US redub, lol! I hate seeing British shows altered to suit the American audience. It ruins them, because it's like hearing it in another language (and I know I'm not alone in that opinion!) Also, now that I'm learning Welsh, I've been watching Fireman Sam and Thomas the Tank Engine in Welsh a lot now, and it's interesting to note that the Welsh versions have some extra lines in places where the English versions don't, and vice versa. I just wish I could get Joshua Jones in Welsh as well. That was another one of my favourite kids shows from the 90s. Sadly, I can only get the theme song in Welsh. I love the fact that the original series of Fireman Sam and Joshua Jones were written in Welsh, and then redubed into English. That doesn't happen very often these days. And you're right about fire patrol being a combination of Thomas and Fireman Sam. I never realised that until you mentioned it, lol!** **Guess I was just too tired to notice.** **Fire patrol was great fun! I'm doing it again on Tuesday. Last Wednesday, the Belgrave CFA (Country Fire Authority) were called out to five emergencies. I know, because you can easily hear the fire station's sirens going off from where I'm staying. I'd love to join the CFA once I move to Melbourne. Please don't worry about the long review. I love getting reviews like that! By the way, now that you've said you're an Aussie too, I'm curious to know where you live, lol! I'm yet to meet a fellow Aussie FanFiction reader who's from Brisvegas (Brisbane for the sake of any non-Aussies reading this!) As for my book series, it's not confirmed yet, but I'll be sure to let everyone know if/when it happens. As I said, I'll know for sure by about the first week of February.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I decided to write a long one this time, to (hopefully) stop the demands for more updates.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 3

The next morning after I arrived for work, I deliberately turned my mobile phone off, and I plugged in my headphones to the computer, to show everyone that I didn't want to be disturbed. Then, I threw my entire focus into clearing the pile of reports from my desk. It took me the entire morning to scan in each of the remaining reports, but finally, I was done. I'd just put the final report back inside the archive box, when someone tapped me on my shoulder, making me jump.

"Argh!" I exclaimed as I removed my headphones. Turning, I saw Station Officer Steele standing right behind me.

"Glad to see you're alert, Sam," he said as I placed a hand over my racing heart.

"I had no choice but to block everything out, sir," I explained. I indicated to the box on the floor beside my desk. "Those reports are done now, sir. I was just about to email them off to HQ."

"Excellent! I hope you can stay on top of the paperwork from now on."

"Me too, sir. There's got to be an easier way to do it though. Anyway, what can I do for you now?"

"I need you to go up to the Mountain Rescue Centre to induct our newest volunteers."

"Helen, Lizzie and Moose, right?"

"Yes. Ellie will meet you up there with Helen's new vehicle. She's collecting it from Newtown. Oh, and take Arnold and Elvis with you. Those two have been having a water fight out the back, and they're getting under my hair."

I groaned. Once again, I'd let Station Officer Steele down, since I was responsible for Ellie and Arnold. Seeing how dejected and tired I was, Station Officer Steele placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Sam, you're doing the work of three people," he reminded me. "Don't stress if you find it's too much for you. After all, this was Chief Fire Officer Boyce's idea, not mine. All you need to do is say that you can't handle it, and I'll let him know."

"All right," I reluctantly admitted. "I can't handle being the lead fireman, a trainee Sub Officer, and instructor to Ellie and Arnold all at once. I need help."

Station Officer Steele smiled kindly. "That's all you needed to say. I'll tell Chief Fire Officer Boyce that you're not handling the situation, and I'm sure he'll do everything he can to ease your workload. I believe this was only supposed to be a short-term experiment."

 _Now you tell me!_

"Come into the Control Room, Sam, and we'll get this sorted out now, before you collapse from stress and exhaustion."

"Thank you, sir," I said gratefully as I stood up.

A few minutes later, inside the privacy of the Control Room, I leaned up against the console, while Station Officer Steele phoned Chief Fire Officer Boyce. He put the phone on loudspeaker, so I could hear the whole conversation. Our boss answered after five rings.

" _Chief Fire Officer Boyce speaking._ "

"Hello Chief Fire Officer Boyce. It's Station Officer Steele here. I'm phoning you to discuss easing Fireman Sam's workload. He's struggling to handle the work of three men by himself."

I heard Chief Fire Officer Boyce chuckle. " _Is he still doing that? My, my! I'm amazed! I thought he'd give up on that months ago!_ "

Station Officer Steele and I exchanged bemused glances.

"I gather from that, that the experiment is over then?" Station Officer Steele asked.

" _Yes. You can tell Fireman Sam that he can drop being a trainee Sub Officer for now. I can see that he has the tenacity to be one, but he's still much too young to be assigned to a desk job. Besides, he's much more valuable to the fire service out on the front line. I've said it before, and I'll say it again – your Fireman Sam is the best firefighter I've ever seen. He deserves all the credit I can give him. I just wish he'd accept more bravery medals._ "

"One was enough!" I said loudly enough for Chief Fire Officer Boyce to hear over the phone. "Thank you for the compliments, sir, but I'm just doing my job. And the next time you want to use me for an experiment, please let me know first."

Chief Fire Officer Boyce laughed again. " _But then it wouldn't be an experiment now, would it?_ "

 _Touché._ "I suppose not, sir."

" _Well, I fully admire you for sticking to your assigned work for so long, Sam. It can't have been easy for you_."

"I admit that it was quite stressful at times, sir, but I've learned a lot from it."

" _In that case, the experiment was a success! Carry on with the good work, Sam. I'm looking forward to the day when I can pin another bravery medal to your chest._ "

I rolled my eyes. "I'd better get going now, sir. Bye, and thank you."

I left the Control Room while Station Officer Steele hung up the phone. _I can't believe I let him toy with me like that! Boyce might be a bit of a dimwit at times, but he damn well knows how to play with my mind! Argh! That is much scarier than dealing with a forest fire! Oh well. I'm sure I'll feel better after I've dealt with a few major emergencies._

I went downstairs to find Elvis and Arnold. Sure enough, they were still enjoying their water fight, but they promptly stopped as soon as they saw me approaching them.

"Hello, Sam!" they said in unison.

"I hear that you two are getting under Station Officer Steele's feet, so he's asked me to take you up to the Mountain Rescue Centre to help induct our newest volunteers."

"Great!" Elvis exclaimed.

I looked at their soaking wet uniforms. "However, I think you two should change into some dry uniforms first..."

Elvis and Arnold looked sheepishly at each other. Then, they hurried inside to change.

...

Half an hour later, we arrived at the Mountain Rescue Centre. I was driving Mercury, while Arnold and Elvis followed behind me in Venus. Helen, Lizzie and Moose were already waiting for us.

"Arnold, I'm sure you won't mind modelling our new mountain rescue uniform, will you?" I whispered to him.

"Of course not, Sam!" Arnold replied enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see them!"

"Great! They're just inside. Put one on, please, and then you can come outside when I give you a cue."

Arnold went inside to put on the uniform. I then turned to address our newest volunteers. "Hello, and a big warm welcome to our new volunteer mountain rescue team! Helen? You will be helping out when there is a medical emergency."

"Roger that, Sam," Helen replied, giving me a small salute.

I turned to Lizzie. "Lizzie. You will be helping out with the animal rescues."

"Roger that, Sam," Lizzie said, and she also saluted me.

 _What's with all these salutes? This isn't the army!_

I turned to where Moose had been standing. "And Moose...Eh, Moose? Whe-where's Moose?" _He was standing here only a minute ago!_

Looking around, I saw him and Elvis standing off to one side, talking excitedly with each other.

"A-and-and then, Buck Douglas went right up to the flying saucer, and went beep-beepity-beep-beep!" Elvis was saying.

"No way!" Moose replied. "I love Alien Quest! I can't believe he's in Pontypandy, eh!" Raising his hand to his forehead, Moose did the silly rotating salute that Buck Douglas apparently did. I didn't know for sure, because I'd never seen the show myself. _Who has time to watch TV when you're as busy as I am anyway?_

Elvis returned the silly salute. "Oh! I can't either!"

 _Well, I guess that makes three of us..._

"I'm going to write a special song, all about aliens!" Elvis added.

I impatiently cleared my throat to get their attention. They both looked at me. "Ah, Moose? If you wouldn't mind joining in the rest of the team?" I asked as I gestured to his place with the others.

"Oh, yah! Sorry, Sam," Moose apologised as he stepped back into line.

"As I was saying," I continued, "Moose, you will be our back-up when there's a difficult mountain rescue."

Moose saluted me as well. "Roger that, Sam!"

"Now, you will all have new mountain rescue uniforms, as modelled by our very own, Arnold!"

Right on cue, Arnold stepped outside, wearing the new uniform. It was mustard yellow, with brown knee and elbow protection pads, and reflective strips.

"Wow!" Helen exclaimed. "That's very fancy!"

"Brilliant, eh!" Moose agreed.

"Work it, Arnold!" Lizzie cheered as Arnold paraded the new uniform for us.

I had to laugh at their silliness, but it was a great release for me. I couldn't believe how stressed I'd become lately. _Perhaps Chief Fire Officer Boyce was also trying to see how well I could handle stress. Oh! Stop thinking about that now. It's over with. Time to get back to doing what I love to do the most._

"And Helen, as part of your new role, you're going to need an ambulance!" I held out my hand towards the road. Again, right on cue, Ellie arrived, driving Helen's brand new 4x4 ambulance.

"Oh, my!" Helen exclaimed as soon as she saw it. She stepped closer to it as Ellie parked the ambulance and got out.

"Nice wheels, Helen!" Ellie said jealously as she handed over the keys.

We all applauded as Helen went to check out her new vehicle. _That was very generous of HQ to provide that for us. It's about time Helen had something decent to drive for emergencies._

I turned to face the others again. "Now, it has come to my attention that the, uh, Buck Douglas Alien Quest show has come to Pontypandy..."

"Ohooh! It's us, Sam! It's us!" Elvis squealed excitedly, jumping up and down like a silly schoolboy.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Anyway, I think we need to be on our guard, and do our best to keep Pontypandy calm."

"Why?" Helen wondered. "Do you think there might be real aliens here, Sam?"

 _How could there be? Aliens don't exist anywhere beyond our imagination. If they did, we'd have found solid evidence of them by now, what with all the technology we have these days._ "No," I replied with a small sigh. "I just know the people of Pontypandy. They can get very excited."

"Surely they can't be that bad?" Lizzie reasoned.

 _You don't know them the way I do, Lizzie. I grew up here, remember?_ "I'll leave you to decide that for yourself, Lizzie. But I do know just how gullible people can be, especially when the media gets involved." I glanced at my watch. "Anyway, I need to get back to the station now, so I can sign off for duty. I have the night shift tonight, so I need to get some sleep. Ellie and Arnold? Can you bring Venus back when you're ready, please?"

"Of course, Sam," Ellie agreed.

"I'll drive Elvis back for you," Helen volunteered. "Once he's finished talking to Moose, of course..."

I sighed again when I saw Elvis and Moose talking about aliens again. "Thank you, Helen. Good luck!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All character belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 4

Just before nine o'clock that night, I returned to the fire station, where I signed on for duty. _Oh, good! Penny's got the night shift with me._

Station Officer Steele was just about to leave the Control Room, when I entered. "Anything to report, sir, before I take over for the night?"

"No, Sam. Hopefully, you and Penny will have a quiet night. But with all these UFO sightings recently, I wouldn't count on it."

I smiled. "Right. I'll see you in the morning then, sir. Goodnight!"

"'Night, Sam."

After Station Officer Steele had gone home, I joined Penny upstairs for some hot cocoa. We always enjoyed having hot cocoa together as soon as we started a night shift, because the caffeine would keep us going for most of the shift. We could always have more later anyway, if we needed it. However, the games we liked to play usually kept us awake too. But tonight, Penny didn't seem terribly interested in playing any games.

"So, what do you make of all these UFO sightings, Sam?" Penny asked me once we'd settled down with our drinks.

"Well, I haven't seen one yet, so I'm not sure what's going on," I replied. "Have you seen one?"

"I haven't, actually. Anyway, what did HQ have to say about that report on the forest fire?"

"I haven't heard anything about it yet, so I'm guessing that Boyce took care of it for us."

"Oh, well, that should be a great relief to you then."

I smiled. "No longer being a trainee Sub Officer is a bigger relief! I intend to stay on the front line for as long as I physically can."

"Knowing how fit you are, Sam, I'm sure you'll be fighting fires well into your eighties!"

We burst out laughing at the thought, and we continued laughing hysterically for at least three whole minutes!

About half an hour later, Penny and I were playing a game of Scrabble, when we heard the Map Screen-700 beeping an alert in the Control Room downstairs. Leaping up, I hurried downstairs to find out what the emergency was.

"Charlie Jones has run aground near Pontypandy Island," the Map Screen-700 informed me. I hit the alarm, and then I selected Venus and Neptune on the vehicle selection screen. _So much for a quiet night!_ I thought as I ran downstairs to the garage.

"It's Charlie!" I told Penny as I ran over Venus. She'd just slid down one of the poles. "He's run aground near Pontypandy Island!"

Still wearing our station uniforms, Penny and I jumped into Venus. Penny then drove us down to the quay. The alarms at the Ocean Rescue Centre were already sounding by the time we arrived there. Penny and I put on our wetsuits over our station uniforms. Then, as soon as we were ready, we launched Neptune down the ramp.

"I've got Charlie's boat on radar, Sam!" Penny informed me as she drove Neptune towards Pontypandy Island.

"Good job, Penny!" I praised.

Before long, we drew up alongside my brother's boat. Sure enough, the hull had been breached, and it was slowly letting in water. I tossed a rope to Charlie, and he tied the end to the front of his boat.

"What happened, Charlie?" I asked.

"I was trying to take a photo of the UFO up there near the ruins, but I dropped my camera into the water," Charlie told me sadly.

"And then you ran into the rock, because you weren't looking where you were going?" I suggested.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Sam. I wanted to get a photo, because I wanted to prove to you that I have been seeing real UFOs."

"But you put yourself into danger, Charlie," I admonished him. "You should know better."

"I know, Sam. I'll stop looking for UFOs from now on. I won't be able to go out to sea for a while anyway. The boat needs repairing."

"Let's get going now, Penny," I suggested. "Who knows how many other UFO misadventures we'll have to deal with tonight?"

...

Surprisingly, there were no more emergencies that night, but we did get a call out from Lizzie early the following morning.

"There's a runaway horse out in the fields!" Station Officer Steele announced over the loudspeakers, after he'd set off the alarm. "It still has its headcollar on, so it could injure itself if it gets caught on something!"

Ellie and I hurried over to Phoenix, and we climbed inside her.

"Have you ever caught a runaway horse before, Sam?" Ellie asked me as she drove Phoenix through the town.

"Not since I was a boy," I replied. "Let's hope it isn't too hard to catch."

It wasn't. The horse had stopped bolting by the time we caught up with him. But, since he'd lost his lead rope, I had to grab hold of his headcollar to lead him back over to where Lizzie had set up her mobile veterinary clinic.

"Oh, thank you, Sam!" Lizzie said appreciatively. "I don't know what made him bolt like that."

"Where would you like him, Lizzie?" I asked. I was still holding onto the headcollar.

"Up the ramp, please, Sam."

I tried to lead the horse up the ramp, but he refused to go. Then, Lizzie tried, but the horse still refused. So, we resorted to using the equine rescue harness and Phoenix to lift the horse onto the platform at the top of the ramp.

I was just starting to remove the harness, when the horse reared with fright. After I'd calmed the horse, I looked around to see what might have startled him. Then I saw it. My first UFO sighting.

 _That looks much smaller than what I'd been expecting! Why would an alien bother building something that small? Unless these aliens are the size of bugs. And why on earth would a UFO be flying around in the daytime? I thought aliens were nocturnal. Well, at least, that's what the experts say._

"Did you see it, Sam?" Ellie asked me excitedly.

"Shh! Ellie!" I admonished as the horse shied. "The horse is already frightened. We'll discuss it later."

...

"This is getting way out of control," I said to Ellie as she drove Phoenix back to the fire station. "Sooner or later, someone's going to get seriously hurt because they're too busy watching a UFO, rather than concentrating on what they're doing."

"I agree with you, Sam. But what did you think of the UFO? It was exciting, wasn't it?"

"I thought it was a bit too small for an alien."

"Haven't you ever heard of an alien probe, Sam?"

"No."

"Then, perhaps you should read up on them. Elvis bought enough of Buck Douglas's books for each of us. Having a knowledge of aliens could be quite useful if we're invaded."

I rubbed my forehead with my fingertips. _I think I'm getting a headache from all this alien nonsense..._ "I'm going to go and have a sleep at home as soon as we get back to the fire station," I told Ellie. "We've got that massive night drill tonight, and so I'm going to need some sleep before we do it."

"Okay, Sam. I'll let Station Officer Steele know where you are. Do you want to remain on call?"

"No. Penny can take my place if there's an emergency. I'm getting close to my maximum hours anyway, so I'll be hanging up my 'do not disturb' sign."

Ellie chuckled. "I'll bet you wish you were a junior firefighter again! We don't have to work as many hours as you do."

"I wasn't a junior for very long, so I don't really remember what it was like."

"That I can believe!"

...

I managed to get about seven hours of sleep before I had to report back for duty later that afternoon. It was about four o'clock when I signed back on for duty, but I was feeling quite refreshed and ready for anything.

"What's the current situation, sir?" I asked Station Officer Steele after I'd reported for duty.

"It's been a quiet day," Station Officer Steele replied. But then, we heard Elvis start strumming away on his electric guitar upstairs.

"Are you sure about that, sir?" I asked teasingly.

Station Officer Steele scowled. "Yes...Well, I do need you and Elvis to go and put some warning signs up in the forest. There are a lot of people looking for aliens at the moment, and they could venture onto some of the dangerous paths."

"Understood, sir. I'll go and fetch Elvis now, to save your hearing."

"Thank you, Sam."

As I made my way upstairs to the Main Room, I listened closely to Elvis' new song. Actually, it was rather good. It was closer to pop than rock, which made for a nice change to his usual style. Sadly, I only managed to catch the end of the song.

"...They may come from Pluto; they may come from Mars. Zooming through the Milky Way, and jumping through the stars. They might have fifteen noses, and they might have one big ear. But Pontypandy's calling them; they're coming right here! My, oh my! There's lights in the sky! I've seen a UFO, so let's go-go-go! Do the moon rock, and the alien roll! Find some little green men – that is our... My, oh my! There's lights in the sky! I've seen a UFO, so let's go-go-go! Do the moon rock, and the alien roll! Find some little green men – that is our goal! Ground control to Station Officer Steele. Come in, Sir."

As the song ended, I heard Elvis speaking to Radar.

"There! Did you like it, Radar?"

Radar barked twice. I chose that moment to walk around the corner to the TV Room. "Elvis? There's time for that later. We have to go and put out some safety notices."

Elvis reluctantly put down his guitar.

"With all this alien spotting going on, we don't want anyone wandering off on dangerous paths."

Before long, Elvis and I were out in the forest, putting up the warning signs, and taping off the dangerous paths. I held one of the signs still, while Elvis hammered it into the ground.

"There!" Elvis said once he'd finished. "That should keep Buck Douglas' space spotters off the dangerous trails, Sam."

"Yep! Just two more to go." _Not bad, considering we don't have much time left before sunset._ I placed a hand on Elvis' shoulder, so I could gently guide him in the direction we needed to go.

"I hope I see some little green men, and get to be on Alien Quest, Sam," Elvis said hopefully.

"You never know, Elvis. Maybe you will." _After all, stranger things have happened, I suppose. However, I'll be staying well away from any cameras I see._

We walked on a little further.

"Ah! Here's the next one," I said, and I took the warning tape off the holder attached to my belt.

"Huh? Wow! Look at that!" Elvis exclaimed behind me. Dropping everything he'd been carrying, Elvis ran over to a nearby clearing.

Thinking that something was wrong, I put the tape back on my belt. "Elvis?" I ran after him.

When I'd caught up with Elvis, I saw what he'd noticed. It was a small, round burned out patch of grass. _Well, at least someone's been responsible with their campfire._

"Oh! It's a flying saucer landing site!" Elvis could barely contain his excitement.

"Are you sure, Elvis?" I asked dubiously.

"Oh, yes, Sam!" Elvis went over to take a closer look. "This is where the rocket thrusters burnt the ground on takeoff! I've seen things just like this on Alien Quest."

I walked over to take a closer look myself. _This looks more like the remains of a campfire than anything else. I should know, I've put out enough campfires to last a lifetime!_

"The little green men have been here, Sam!" Elvis exclaimed joyously.

I noticed something at my feet. Bending down, I picked it up. "Well, it looks like they left a sausage behind when they went."

Elvis gasped when he saw the burnt sausage in my hand. "An alien sausage!"

 _Hardly! Smells like pork to me. Something just doesn't add up here_. I put the sausage back where I'd found it, and I snapped a couple of pictures of it on my mobile phone. Elvis started taking his own pictures.

"I can't wait to show this to Buck Douglas!"

Once we were done taking photos, Elvis ran back to fetch the equipment he'd dropped. I picked up the sausage again.

"Come on, Elvis," I said tiredly. "One more sign to go. Then, we need to get ready for our night drill."

We continued on our way, but Elvis wouldn't stop talking about the apparent 'landing site'. I decided to ignore his chatter. _I won't believe or disbelieve the presence of aliens in Pontypandy until I've seen more proof. A scorched patch of grass with a burnt sausage is not proof._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 5

"Sam? I was thinking about having pizza for dinner tonight, from Bella and Joe's Interplanetary Pizzas," Station Officer Steele said to me as soon as I entered the kitchen, after returning from putting out the warning signs. The sun was just starting to set on the horizon. "Would you like some?"

"Thank you, sir, but I'd rather have the salad I've got in the fridge instead."

Station Officer Steele smiled. "I guess there are some perks to having a desk job! I can eat whatever I like, without having to worry about my fitness. I think I'll order the Martian Margarita. Is the team ready for tonight's drill, Sam?"

"Yes, sir. I'll just go and help them pack up the training hoses, and then after we've had a quick dinner, we can set off."

"Excellent! I'll just order my pizza..."

I shook my head in amusement, before I slid down the nearest fireman's pole. I then put on my firefighting uniform, before I headed outside to help the others.

Penny, Elvis, Ellie, Arnold and I had almost finished packing up the training equipment, when Station Officer Steele came outside to see how we were going. Station Officer Steele took one look at Elvis, and he began stuttering.

"Wai-! Wai-! What the blazes have you got on your head, Criddlington?"

"It's my tin-foil hat, sir!" Elvis replied. "Buck Douglas says it stops aliens reading your mind."

"Oh! The only reason aliens would read your mind, Criddlington, is if they wanted a recipe for shepherd's pie! Hehehe!"

I only just managed to suppress my urge to laugh. _At least Station Officer Steele can't blame me for Elvis being out of uniform. That's his problem, not mine!_

"Fireman Sam!"

I looked up as two strangers walked into the yard. The first one was wearing a green greatcoat, with a white scarf. _How ridiculous in this weather!_ The other stranger was carrying a large camera. _Oh, no! Not the media!_

Elvis was immediately star struck. "Buck Douglas! Star of Alien Quest! Ooohhh!" He ran over to the man wearing the greatcoat. "Can I have your autograph?"

"Sure you can, space spotter!" Buck Douglas replied, and he immediately signed a card for Elvis.

"Huh! Wow!" Elvis breathed as he walked away with his prize.

"Fireman Sam!" Buck Douglas said as he stepped in front of me. "I've come to interview you for my show."

I was stunned. "What? Me?" _Why on earth would he want to interview me?_ "I...er...uh...really don't think that I..."

Buck Douglas thrust a large microphone in my face. "The fans of Alien Quest would love to hear what the local hero has to say! It'll be space-tastic!"

 _Oh, good grief! No!_ But I was too stunned to move. _Run, you fool! Cameras are worse than medals!_

"Rolling?" Buck Douglas asked his cameraman. As soon as the red record button showed up on the camera, Buck Douglas turned to face me. "So! Fireman Sam! What do you think about the fact that men from Mars have landed here? In Pontypandy!"

My mind went completely blank. _Say something, or he'll only keep pestering for an answer!_ Buck Douglas thrust the microphone towards me again. "I'm...er...not sure men from Mars have actually landed in Pontypandy," I heard myself say.

Buck Douglas placed a hand on my shoulder. "Well! You heard it here first, space spotters!"

I pushed Buck's hand off my shoulder, but he didn't seem to care.

"Fireman Sam says that aliens in Pontypandy are not from Mars! They're from a much more distant planet!"

 _Oh, Great Fires of London!_ "B-but I-I didn't say that!" I protested weakly. "Eh...erm..."

"Cut!" Buck said. Turning, he shook my hand. "Thanks, Sam. That was great."

"But, I...!" _Oh, what's the use of protesting? He twisted my words to get what he wanted! Drat it! This is exactly why I'll never agree to appear on TV!_

Buck and his cameraman started to walk away. Elvis ran after them.

"Bye, Mr Douglas! I've got a tin-foil hat!"

"Lovely!" Buck replied without looking back. "Bye!"

 _What a jerk!_

"Well, that seemed to go well!" Ellie said, amused.

"Hmm...A star is born!" Penny giggled as she and Ellie started to walk away.

I frowned crossly. _If that goes to air... He had no right to spring that on me without warning!_

At that moment, we all heard something whirring overhead. Looking up, I saw a drone with a pizza box attached to the top of it. The others saw it too, and we all watched it fly towards us.

"Oh, look!" Elvis exclaimed. "A flying saucer!"

I rolled my eyes. "No, Elvis. I think that might be the Martian Margarita, Station Officer Steele ordered from Bella and Joe."

The drone swooped low over us, forcing us to duck. Then, it flew to the top of the external back stairs, before it disappeared into the kitchen.

"Ohohoh!" We heard Station Officer Steele exclaim from inside. "What a beauty!"

Then, we heard a loud crash, followed by some grunts and exclamations from our boss.

"Great tangled hoses!" Station Officer Steele shouted as he emerged at the top of the stairs, covered in tomato paste and pizza dough. He slammed the door behind him.

"Hmm... Bella and Joe haven't quite got the delivery system right, have they, sir?" I called up to him.

"No, Sam," Station Officer Steele replied despondently. "Not quite." He licked some of the tomato sauce from his now badly stained white shirt. "It is very tasty though!"

I chuckled. "Right, team!" The others turned to face me. "Let's get going! Time for that drill."

The others fell into an orderly line, and we headed inside the garage to collect everything we'd need for our night-time training session up in the mountains.

...

A couple of hours later, we were all ready to begin our night-time mountain rescue training session. Penny had driven off with Mercury about an hour ago, so she could hide somewhere, leaving the rest of us to prepare for our mock search and rescue. Ellie, Arnold, Elvis and I were wearing our brand new mountain rescue uniforms. Station Officer Steele gave us one last briefing before we headed off to our respective vehicles.

"Ellie and Arnold? You will search for Penny in Venus," Station Officer Steele instructed. "Sam? You will join Elvis and Tom in Wallaby Two. And don't you dare go pulling rank on me this time. Even though you're the lead fireman, you need this training just as much as the others, so don't start getting complacent about your abilities. I'll co-ordinate the entire search from here."

"Yes, sir!" Ellie, Arnold, Elvis, Tom and I replied in unison.

"Excellent! Good luck, everyone. Be sure to stay in full radio contact, because I will be assessing you on everything you say and do tonight."

"We will, sir," I said, before following Tom and Elvis upstairs to Wallaby Two.

Minutes later, Elvis and I strapped ourselves into the seats inside Wallaby Two's large passenger bay. In the cockpit, Tom went through his pre-flight checks. Then, he started up the engine.

" _Okay, team!_ " Station Officer Steele said over our radios. " _I hope you're ready for our search and rescue drill?_ "

"Roger that, sir," I replied.

" _Roger that, sir,_ " Arnold added from Venus.

I closed Wallaby Two's side door, just as Tom started taking off into the night sky.

" _Now,_ " Station Officer Steele continued, " _Penny is going to hide, and we have to find her, and get her to safety. Are you ready, Penny?_ "

" _Ready, sir,_ " Penny radioed back. Unfortunately, there was no background noise to give us a clue as to her whereabouts.

 _No doubt Penny's going to make this extra hard for all of us._ "Right, team!" I said over the radio, taking charge as lead fireman. "Let's find Penny."

" _Activating heat-seeking scanner,_ " Tom said via the radio, since there was no other means of communicating between Wallaby Two's cockpit and her passenger bay.

I radioed Ellie and Arnold. "We'll check the forests. You check the mountains."

" _We're on it, Sam,_ " Arnold radioed back.

Sometime later, we were flying over the lower edge of the forest, scanning the area for traces of body heat, when Tom radioed us.

" _I think I've found something!_ "

He hovered Wallaby Two so that its light was shining directly on the person he'd found. Looking out of the window, I saw Mike down below with a megaphone and a telescopic camera around his neck.

 _What the...?_

"Welcome to our planet!" Mike said through the megaphone.

"G'day Mike!" Tom replied via Wallaby Two's external loudspeaker.

Mike was surprised. "Oh! You aliens sound just like Tom Thomas!"

"It is Tom, mate!"

"Tom? You're an alien?"

"No, mate! I'm in a helicopter!" And Tom turned Wallaby Two so that Mike could see it clearly.

Elvis and I couldn't contain our laughter for another second! In fact, I laughed so hard, tears began streaming down my cheeks.

" _Sam? What on earth is so funny?_ " Station Officer Steele demanded to know.

 _Whoops! I must've pressed the 'talk' button on my radio by mistake with my harness._ "Nothing, sir..."

Elvis sniggered, and that made us both start laughing hysterically again.

" _Well, if you don't have anything to share, would you kindly maintain radio silence?_ " Station Officer Steele snapped crossly.

" _They're laughing at Mike Flood, sir,_ " Tom reported. " _He thought I was an alien!_ "

" _Oh, dear!_ " Station Officer Steele groaned in disbelief. " _Does anyone have anything to report yet?_ "

" _Only three foxes, a herd of deer and one very embarrassed handyman!_ " I replied, which of course made Tom, Elvis and I start laughing again.

" _Yes... Well, could you three please settle down and concentrate? I am examining you, and so far, you, Sam, will not be doing well in the radio communications part of this drill._ "

"Sorry, sir," I quickly replied, as I tried desperately hard to suppress my laughter. "It won't happen again. But you can't blame us for laughing over Mike's gullibility."

" _I suppose not, Sam..._ " Station Officer Steele muttered.

We continued searching for another ten minutes or so. I was just starting to wonder if we'd ever find Penny, when Tom made an announcement.

" _There's someone in the woods._ "

"It could be Penny," I replied seriously, having recovered from my attack of the giggles after Station Officer Steele's severe reprimand.

" _Venus to Wallaby Two?_ " Ellie said.

"Come in, Venus," I replied.

" _We've located someone hiding up in the mountains._ "

"Hmm..." I mused. "Looks like two people are hiding out this evening."

" _What do you want to do, Sam?_ " Tom wondered.

"Lower me down," I decided. "We need to be sure it's not Penny hiding in the forest. If it isn't, whoever it is could be lost."

" _Right you are, Sam!_ " Tom replied, and he flew down lower over the area.

Elvis and I unclipped ourselves from the seats, and I grabbed my backpack from under my seat. Then, I opened the side door. A cold gust of wind blew around me as I slipped the harness over my head and under my arms. As soon as I was ready, Elvis pressed the control button that extended Wallaby Two's winching arm out as far as it would go. I cautiously swung out into the air.

"Take me down, Elvis," I instructed.

Elvis pressed another button, and I was lowered down through the trees and onto the forest floor. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I slipped out of the harness. I already had my helmet torch on, but I took out my handheld torch for extra light.

At first, I couldn't see anyone, but then I heard a twig snap. "Penny?"

My lights focused on something standing not too far in front of me. It was a green human-like creature, wearing a face mask and a silver harness around its chest!

"What?" I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.

It was an alien!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 6

As soon as the alien saw my torches' lights, it took off running. I started to run after it. I wanted to be sure I wasn't seeing things in the dark.

"Er...come back!" I called, but the alien didn't stop. I trod on something solid in the dark, but thinking it was only as large stick, I continued running after the alien.

 _If I can catch it, then maybe we can figure out what's really going on here in Pontypandy,_ I thought as I adjusted my stride for long distance running. I figured that this alien creature wasn't interested in being caught, so I mentally prepared myself for a night-time marathon.

Despite the alien's apparent clumsiness, it was actually quite fast. It tried to lose me by jumping over logs, and running through bushes, but I only lost sight of it for a moment after it crested a hill. Looking around, I saw the alien scrambling out of the river, on the opposite bank. Even in the dimness, I saw something quite odd about its feet.

 _Is that alien wearing...trainers?_

I couldn't be sure, so I continued running after it. I gasped as I jumped into the cold river water, but my new uniform protected me from the worst of the chill.

As I chased the alien up the next hill, I could see that it was starting to tire. Either that, or I was just much more fitter than it was. It scrambled over a low stone wall, while I merely leapt over it using just one hand.

 _Yup! I am gaining on it..._

I could hear the alien panting from exhaustion now, so I lengthened my stride even more. I hadn't even broken into a sweat yet. When we reached a stile, the alien practically rolled over it, while I jumped over it with ease, again using one hand to lift me over as I'd been correctly trained to do.

I was right behind the alien now, and it could sense that, because it kept looking back over its shoulders to see where I was.

 _Just a few more strides..._ I thought as I attempted to make a grab for its silver harness.

"HEEEELLLP!"

Hearing a distant call for help, I instantly stopped running to listen. The alien continued running, but I decided to let it go. _Someone's in trouble!_

"That sounds like the kids!" I said to myself. _What on earth would they be doing out here at this time of night?_ Changing direction, I started running towards the call for help.

Hearing another call for help much closer, I knew I was heading in the right direction. Then, in my torchlight, I saw Mandy and James up ahead of me.

"Heeell-!" Mandy began, but she stopped when she heard James say my name with relief.

"Uncle Sam!"

I stopped running when I reached them. Mandy and James looked very relieved to see me.

"Hooray!" they exclaimed in unison. "You came!"

Grabbing onto one of my backpack straps, Mandy pulled me closer to the edge of the ravine.

James called down over the edge, "Uncle Sam is here to save us!"

Peering over the edge, I saw Norman and Sarah down at the bottom of the ravine. "What's happened here, kids?" I asked.

"Norman and Sarah have fallen down the ravine," Mandy explained quickly, while I beckoned for her and James to move away from the edge. "And Sarah thinks she might have broken her arm."

 _Oh, Sarah! Thank goodness a possible broken arm is all we have to worry about._ "Okay. Now, everybody stay calm," I told them both gently. "James? You and Mandy keep back from the edge, and I'll radio for help."

Since I was already failing the radio communications part of our night-time drill, I knew I had to try and make amends by using the radio correctly from now on. Especially since this was now a real emergency. I pressed the 'talk' button on my radio.

"Fireman Sam to Station Officer Steele. Sarah Jones has fallen down a ravine, and might have broken her arm," I reported _. There, sir. Clear, concise and professional._

" _Sarah Jones has fallen down a ravine, and might have broken her arm?_ " Station Officer Steele repeated, to ensure he'd received the message correctly. " _R-roger that, Sam! I'll get Wallaby Two and Nurse Flood to you as soon as possible._ "

While we waited for help to arrive, I took my abseiling equipment out of my backpack. Mandy and James made sure they stood well back, while I secured the rope to a tree. Then, after I'd clipped the loose end onto my abseiling harness, I went over to the edge of the ravine.

"Keep calm!" I called down to Norman and Sarah. "I'm coming down!" Then, I tossed the end of the rope into the ravine. Once it was down, I started abseiling smoothly into the ravine.

When I reached the bottom, I unclipped the rope from my harness, and I knelt down beside Sarah. She had a tattered green coat draped over her, to help keep her warm.

"You're going to be all right, Sarah," I soothed. "Wallaby Two is on its way."

I then reached into my backpack, and I took out one of my night-time flares. Instead of shooting up into the air like a rocket, this type of flare was designed to give off glowing red smoke while I held it in my hand. As soon as I heard Wallaby Two's engines approaching, I moved a safe distance away from Norman and Sarah before I ignited the flare.

The flare ignited like a torch, sending a thick column of luminescent red smoke into the air. I waved the flare around, creating a large cloud of red smoke, which I knew Tom would easily be able to see from his helicopter.

" _I see them!_ " I heard Tom say over the radio.

However, I kept waving the flare until I saw Tom position Wallaby Two overhead.

" _We're in position._ "

"Roger that, Tom," I said. Then, I extinguished the flare in the nearby stream.

Elvis lowered Helen and a stretcher down into the ravine. As soon as she was down, I removed the stretcher from the harness, and I rested it against a nearby rock. Helen slipped out of her harness, and she jogged over to Sarah.

"Oh, dear!" Helen exclaimed as soon as she saw Sarah's arm. "It does look like you've broken it. But don't worry, Sarah. We'll soon have you on the mend."

While she was still comforting Sarah, I slipped the harness around myself.

"Come on, Norman," I said, as I placed the second harness around him, and secured it. "Let's get you to safety." I pressed the 'talk' button on my radio. "Take us up, Tom!"

Elvis winched us up, and Tom gently flew us back over to the ravine's edge. As soon as Norman and I were back on solid ground, I removed our harnesses.

"Okay, everyone," I said firmly to the kids. "Let's stay safely back, while Nurse Flood takes care of Sarah."

Mandy, Norman and James obediently took a couple of steps backwards. Leaning over the edge, I watched on as Helen strapped Sarah onto the stretcher. She then secured the stretcher to the winch, before slipping on one of the harnesses.

" _Okay,_ " Helen radioed. " _We're ready._ "

"Will she be all right, Uncle Sam?" James asked me anxiously, as we watched Helen and Sarah being lifted up towards Wallaby Two's passenger door.

I placed both hands on James' shoulders. "She'll be fine, after a visit to Newtown Hospital," I told him reassuringly. Then, remembering our drill, I jumped back onto the radio. "Come in, Venus? It seems our night-time drill turned into a real rescue. I hope Penny's okay?"

" _Don't worry, Sam,_ " Arnold radioed back. " _We've found her!_ "

As soon as Wallaby Two had flown away towards Newtown, I turned my attention to Norman, James and Mandy.

"You lot shouldn't be out in the woods at this time of night!" I scolded them severely. "Your parents must be worried sick!"

The three of them spoke at once.

"We're sorry, Uncle Sam," James whimpered.

"I won't do it again," Norman muttered.

"It was Norman's fault!" Mandy said, pointing at him. James did the same.

"And you've gone through a 'No Entry' sign," I continued sternly. "You could've been seriously hurt!" _Or worse!_

"I know," James moaned.

"I'm really sorry, Sam," Norman apologised.

"Norman made us do it!" Mandy snapped crossly, pointing to the culprit again.

 _Okay then... James is genuinely sorry for following Norman. Norman appears to be sorry because Sarah got hurt, and Mandy is just trying to shift the blame onto someone else._ I sighed tiredly. _It's probably getting close to eleven o'clock, and it's high time these kids were at home, in bed. We can deal with punishments in the morning._ "Anyway, let's get you safely back."

"But, my Buck Douglas alien coat is still down there!" Norman protested, and he went back over to the edge of the ravine.

I looked over the edge as well. "It's a bit tattered and torn for you to be wearing now, Norman."

"Ooohhh!"

"But, don't worry. We'll come back for it in the daytime." I gently guided Norman away from the edge, and I started leading the children on our long walk back to town. "Actually, isn't that the coat your mum wore to your Aunty Phyllis' wedding?"

"Umm..." Norman whimpered.

"Yes! Told you!" Mandy exclaimed triumphantly.

I pressed the 'talk' button on my radio. "Fireman Sam to Station Officer Steele."

" _Go ahead, Sam._ "

"I'm walking Norman, Mandy and James home now, so I'll meet you back at the station for our debrief. Over."

" _Okay, Sam. Take care. Over._ "

"I will, sir. Out."

I then took out my mobile phone, and I started phoning the kids' parents to let them know that their children were safe. I left Dilys until last, because I knew she wouldn't take the news well once she found out that Norman was responsible.

She didn't.

 _Ow, Dilys! The next time you want to start shouting at someone over the phone, don't do it unless their phone's on loudspeaker, and away from the person's ear! And also, please don't shoot the messenger!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment**

Chapter 7

"Hello, Sam?" Station Officer Steele called from downstairs. "We're back."

I dragged myself off the sofa in the TV area, where I'd been having a power nap. "I'm upstairs!" I called, knowing that my voice would be heard downstairs through the holes in the floor.

"Meet us in the Briefing Room please, Sam."

I promptly slid down the nearest pole.

A few minutes later, we'd all assembled inside the Briefing Room. Arnold, Ellie, Penny, Elvis and I stood 'at ease' in an orderly line, while we waited for Station Officer Steele to give us the results of his assessment of our night-time drill. I glanced up at the clock on the wall above the door.

 _Twelve forty-five? That means I only slept for about ten minutes. Funny, it felt a lot longer than that!_

Station Officer Steele glanced at his notes on his clipboard. "Let's see now… Firefighter Morris. I'll start with you."

Penny snapped to attention. "Yes, sir!"

"You selected a difficult, but safe hiding spot on the north side of Pontypandy Mountain. It was challenging, but not impossible to find you, so well done. Full marks."

"Thank you, sir." Penny beamed as she returned to 'at ease'.

Station Officer Steele also gave Arnold, Ellie and Elvis full marks. Finally, it was my turn.

"Fireman Jones."

I promptly snapped to attention. "Yes, sir!" _This is going to be bad…_

"Initially, you were flippant over the radio, and it was obvious to me that you weren't taking this drill seriously…

I discreetly bit my tongue, even though I could feel a flush rising in my cheeks. _Say nothing. Just accept everything he has to say for now. You can argue with him later…_

"…However, when the real emergency happened, you did everything correctly. In fact, it was a textbook rescue operation, so well done. I've decided not to mention your earlier radio misdemeanors in my report of the drill to HQ. You've passed with full marks."

"Thank you, sir," I whispered with relief, as I resumed my 'at ease' position.

"Now, you may all go home and get some rest, except for Elvis, who's on night duty with me."

I left the room as quickly as I could.

"Sam?" Penny called, just as my phone rang.

"Just a moment, Penny." Seeing that it was Charlie calling me, I answered my phone. "Hello, Charlie. What's the news on Sarah?"

" _She has broken her arm, but it's a clean break, so the doctor was able to put a cast on it without operating. I'm just about to leave the hospital with Sarah and Helen._ "

"Okay. Thanks for the update. Please give Sarah my love, and tell her that I'm proud of her for being so brave."

" _I will, Sam. Bye._ "

"Bye, Charlie," I whispered as I hung up my phone. Then, I leaned up against the nearest wall. _What a day!_

Penny placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Will Sarah be okay?"

I nodded. "She has broken her arm, but it wasn't bad." I flicked through my phone to check tomorrow's shift roster. "Well, at least I can sleep in. I don't have to be on duty again until eleven o'clock, so I'll see you then, Penny."

"Okay, Sam. Goodnight!"

"'Night!" I called as I left the fire station through the back door.

…

After I'd signed on for work late the following morning, I took one of Buck Douglas' books outside onto the balcony, where I knew I was unlikely to be disturbed. So far, I hadn't told anyone else about the alien I'd seen during the drill, but that was because I knew how everyone would react if they knew. _The least I can do is to avoid a mass panic attack._

One thing I found really odd about the book, was that the pictures in it were so clear, that they looked like they'd been taken inside a studio. _Most of the pictures I've seen of UFOs have been so blurred; you can't tell what it is. And why is the picture of an alien in here exactly the same as the one I saw last night? Hmm… Okay, time to apply Sherlock Holmes' theory… '_ _When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,_ however improbable _, must be the truth.' Well, based on the evidence I have in front of me, I can only draw two possible conclusions to this mystery..._

The balcony door opened and closed, so I knew I was about to be disturbed.

"Oh!" I heard Elvis say behind me. "Getting interested in Buck Douglas, eh, Sam?"

I closed the book. "I wouldn't go that far, Elvis..."

"You know, one of the most brilliant things about him is, wherever he goes, people always see lights in the sky, and little green men." And with that, Elvis returned inside.

"Hmm... Do they, now?" I mused. _Right, that settles it! I think I know what's going on. I just need to find a way to prove my theory... Perhaps I'd better take another look at the evidence I already have. And, I need to try and get some more..._

I returned inside the fire station. Penny and Elvis were in the kitchen. "Would you two like to come for a drive with me?"

"Sure, why not?" Penny replied. "It's been very quiet today, surprisingly. It'd be nice to get some fresh air."

"Great! Could you bring your camera too, Elvis?"

"Okay, Sam."

Before long, we arrived in Jupiter near the mill bridge. Station Officer Steele hadn't been too happy about me wanting to take Jupiter out, but once I'd explained that I wanted to take some pictures from last night's rescue for my incident report, he agreed. It wasn't a lie. I did need to take some pictures during the daytime, since the rescue had been at night.

After I'd taken all the pictures I needed at the ravine, I led Penny and Elvis over to the river.

"Uh, Sam? What are we doing here?" Penny wondered.

"We're looking for alien footprints, Penny," I replied casually, as if looking for alien footprints was something that we did every day.

Penny was surprised. "Ah! Really? What do they look like?"

"I saw some in episode seventy-two of Alien Quest," Elvis supplied eagerly. "They've got three toes, but apparently they are really, really difficult to find."

"Here's one!" I said, pointing to the trainer-shaped footprint in the sand beside the river. I knew for sure that it wasn't from my own boots, because the sole print was quite delicate and finer than the print made by the soles of my boots. And it was fresh too. _Done last night, of course._

"Oh!" Elvis said with an air of disappointment as soon as he saw it. "That's not an alien footprint, Sam!"

"Not unless aliens have started wearing trainers," Penny added. She glanced from Elvis to myself. Clearly, she didn't understand what was going on either.

Frowning thoughtfully, I took a photo of the footprint.

...

After we'd returned to the fire station and had lunch, I sat down at my computer. _Right. Time to take a look at all the evidence I've gathered so far..._ I brought up the photos of the burnt sausage and the trainer footprint. I stared at the two images while I considered my theory.

Hearing Station Officer Steele's familiar footsteps approaching behind me, I glanced over my shoulder at him. _He may as well know what I think..._

"There's something not quite right about all these alien sightings, sir."

Station Officer Steele looked surprised. "Really? In what way?"

I pointed to the photo of the trainer footprint. "Well, for one thing, I don't think aliens wear trainers..." I moved my finger across to the photo of the burnt sausage. "..and for another, this sausage looks like it was burnt on a campfire, not by rocket boosters."

Station Officer Steele gasped as the full implications of what I was saying hit home. "Great tangled hoses! You're right! I've dropped more than one porky beauty into a campfire in my time, and that's exactly what they look like!" He pointed to my photo of the burnt sausage.

I turned back to look at the screen. "Just as I thought, sir. Just as I thought."

"Should I alert the Newtown police?"

I held up a hand. "Not yet, sir. We need more evidence before we can get the police involved. And, I think this will be a bigger news story than what the Newtown police force will be able to cope with."

"What are you suggesting, Sam?"

I looked up at him again. "I think we'll need the Cardiff police force for this one, sir. But please don't do anything until we get solid evidence that my theory is correct. We don't want these aliens to get wind of the fact that we suspect what's going on, and disappear."

"Understood, Sam. Just let me know as soon as you have enough evidence, and I'll put the call through to Cardiff straight away."

 **Note: The next chapter contains the end of the movie. You have been warned, lol!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

 **SPOILER ALERT!**

 **This chapter contains the end of the movie! I will write another chapter or two after this one, to tie off some loose ends left open by the movie.**

Chapter 8

By dusk that same day, I was still wracking my brains to try and figure out how to gather more evidence of the alien. Then, the alarm went off.

" _There's a forest fire on Pontypandy Island!_ " Station Officer Steele announced over the loudspeakers.

Penny, Elvis and I leapt up from where we'd been sitting in the TV area, watching the news, and we scattered so that we weren't all sliding down the same fireman's pole. Downstairs, I saw on the vehicle selection screen that Station Officer Steele had chosen Venus, Mercury and Titan. I ran over to Mercury, while Penny and Elvis scrambled inside Venus. Since we were expecting to wear our ocean rescue uniforms for this one, we didn't bother putting on our firefighting uniforms.

Aboard Mercury, I led Venus through the narrow streets of Pontypandy. Within minutes, we'd arrived at the quay.

" _Sam?_ " Station Officer Steele said over the radio. " _Wallaby Two is on its way._ "

"Roger that, sir."

I parked Mercury in front of Trevor's bus, and I removed my helmet. There was already quite a crowd watching from the quay. Penny parked Venus alongside Mercury.

"Can you see the fire yet, Tom?" I asked over the radio.

" _It looks quite big, Sam,_ " Tom replied. " _But shouldn't be too much of a problem for Wallaby Two!_ "

 _Well, I guess we'd better head on back to the station then..._

" _Sam? We've got a problem_ ," Tom radioed. He sounded very concerned. " _There are people on the island! It'd be too dangerous to drop the water._ "

"People?" Penny exclaimed. "What are we going to do?"

"What about Titan's water cannons?" Elvis suggested.

"They won't be able to spray the water far enough onto the island..." I replied, but then I had a thought. _Venus! Her water cannon would be perfect! But how on earth can we get her over there...? Okay, that's a crazy idea, but it might just work..._ I pressed the 'talk' button on my radio. "Tom? Fly back to the quay! I've got an idea."

"What's your idea, Sam?" Penny wondered as I ran over to Mercury's locker.

I took out my spare firefighting uniform, and I put it on while I spoke. "Venus only weighs about five tonnes when she's fully loaded with water, right?"

"Right," Penny and Elvis agreed in unison.

"And Wallaby Two's water bucket can hold five thousand litres, right?"

"What of it?" Elvis wondered.

I put on my firefighting helmet before I replied. "You do the maths, Elvis!"

Penny gasped. "Sam! You're not seriously going to do what I think you're going to do, are you?"

I nodded gravely, just as Wallaby Two flew in overhead. "Tom?" I radioed. "Lower the large animal harness!"

Tom did so, and I started strapping it around Venus. Even Tom was surprised by my idea.

" _Sam? You're crazy! You know that, don't you?_ "

"I'm just thinking outside the box, Tom, like we've all been trained to do," I replied just as I finished securing the harness. "I'm sure you'll be able to manage us." Then, I climbed inside Venus.

"Are you sure about this, Sam?" Penny asked me through the open window as I fastened the seatbelt. She'd changed into her ocean rescue uniform, while I'd been securing the harness.

I gave her a small nod. _This is the only way..._ "Ready, Tom!" I instructed over the radio.

Wallaby Two easily lifted Venus and myself into the air. _Yes! I knew this would work!_ We flew out over the ocean.

Halfway to Pontypandy Island, Venus' wheels skimmed the water for a short distance. My heart was pounding in my chest, because I thought we might crash into the sea, but Tom managed to pull us clear.

"How's Wallaby Two handling us, Tom?" I radioed.

" _You're a bit heavier than a full water bucket, Sam! But we'll get you there!_ "

 _Right... Personal jokes aside, I'm glad this is going well._

I could see the fire as we approached the island. It had really taken hold of the forest. Tom ensured that Venus had a gentle landing on the sand at the beach. As soon as Venus was safely down, I pulled myself out through the window, so I could unfastened the harness. As soon as it was clear, I manoeuvred myself back inside Venus.

 _Okay, Venus. Let's put out this fire!_

I turned Venus on, put her into gear, activated her siren and drove away up the path.

When I entered the forest, I started spraying the fire using Venus' water cannon. _I love how we can control the water cannon from inside Venus's cab. It makes this task so much safer!_

Most of the fire was burning in patches, so they were quite easy to extinguish before moving on to the next patch. I braked suddenly when a burning branch fell across my path. Using the water cannon, I was able to extinguish the branch without even getting out of Venus.

In the distance, I could hear Titan's sirens wailing, so I knew that the worst of the fire was being dealt with by Ben, Penny and Elvis. Then, through the smoke, I saw Mandy and Sarah. Poor Sarah had her broken arm in a sling. I turned off the water cannon as I stopped Venus in front of them.

"Get to the beach, while I put out the rest of the fire!" I instructed the girls.

"Okay, Uncle Sam," Sarah said. "Bu-but we've lost the others!"

"Don't worry. I'll find them!"

The girls ran off in the direction of the beach. I continued driving and putting out the fire, until I reached its source a few minutes later. Ahead of me, I saw what appeared to be a large flying saucer – and it was on fire!

I parked Venus close to the burning flying saucer, and I tried to extinguish the fire using the water, but it didn't work, so I turned off the water cannon.

 _Hmm... Okay, so this was probably ignited by some sort of fuel. Time for some Carbon Dioxide..._ I thought as lowered my visor. Then, I grabbed the fire extinguisher out of Venus' cab. I ran with it over to the burning flying saucer, and I doused it with the Carbon Dioxide.

Mike appeared at my side. "That alien caused quite a fire, didn't he, Sam?"

I raised my visor. _Where on earth did you spring from, Mike?_ Wanting to satisfy my own curiosity, I tapped the flying saucer with a knuckle. "Hmm... This flying saucer seems to be made of fibreglass." Looking to my right, I saw another piece of evidence that confirmed my theory. "And why would an alien be using a petrol-powered generator?"

Mike scratched his head. "Oohh! It's a real puzzle, Sam!"

I shook my head. "I'm not sure it is, Mike."

"Eh?" Mike sounded very surprised. "What do you mean by that, Sam?"

I sighed. "Come on, Mike. Let's get you down to the beach. Who else was with you here on the island, besides Sarah and Mandy? We need to ensure that everyone's accounted for."

"James was here too," Mike said.

I nodded, and I returned to Venus. "Hope in, Mike, and I'll give you a lift."

"Thanks, Sam!"

...

It was almost dark by the time I drove Venus back down the path to the beach. When we arrived, I saw Penny and Elvis handing out blanket to Sarah, James, Mandy _and_ Norman.

 _I might have known that Norman was involved, somehow!_ I groaned inwardly as I approached the group. Penny handed Mike a blanket. The children were all sitting on some rocks. For a moment, nobody said anything. But then James spoke.

"We're really sorry, Sam."

 _Sorry for what? What did you do this time, James?_

"But, we didn't start the fire," Mandy said.

"That's true," Mike added. "The little green man did!"

"Fireman Sam! Fireman Sam!" Norman exclaimed as he stood up. He appeared to be very excited about something. "I need to tell you something! I don't-"

"Don't think there is an alien?" I finished.

Norman sat back down on his rock, stunned. "You know too?"

"Of course," I told him kindly.

"Yes, there is!" James insisted fearfully. "There he is now!"

James pointed out to sea. Even in the dark, I could see something speeding away from the island on a jetski. _Aha! Time to solve this mystery once and for all! It won't get away from me again this time!_ I quickly spoke into my radio. "Tom? I'm going to need Wallaby Two back here, now!"

Within seconds, Wallaby Two flew in overhead. Tom lowered the double harness, and I slipped myself into one of the harnesses.

"Follow that jetski, Tom!" I ordered.

" _Roger that, Sam! I'm guessing you want to catch an alien for Buck Douglas?_ "

"We'll see, Tom. We'll see..."

Tom flew Wallaby Two after the jetski, with me dangling from the harness below. We caught up to the alien quite quickly, which really gave it a good surprise. I gestured for Tom to fly even lower, and he did.

I was getting even closer to the alien, when it decided to aim for a buoy. For a moment, I wondered if the alien was going to deliberately crash the jetski, but at the last second, it swerved to avoid it. Luckily, I also managed to avoid the bobbing buoy.

 _Whew! That could've ended badly!_

Tom seemed to realise just how close I'd come to being injured, so he flew on even faster to try and catch up with the alien before it attempted another dangerous tactic.

With one smooth move, I landed on the jetski behind the alien, and I slipped the second harness around it. "Got you!" I exclaimed triumphantly.

As soon as I had managed to get the harness under the alien's arms, I gestured for Tom to take us up. He did, and I held onto the alien tightly, just in case it decided to try and slip out of the harness. The jetski continued on all by itself.

 _It'll stop somewhere eventually, but right now, it's time to show everyone my final and biggest piece of evidence...this alien!_

Tom flew us back to Pontypandy Island, where the others were still waiting for us to return. Elvis, Ben and Mike had their mobile phones out, filming, as the alien and I landed on the beach.

"The aliens have landed!" Mike declared, as I slipped out of my harness. I then removed the alien from the other harness.

"Buck Douglas is going to love this!" Elvis added with delight.

I gave Tom a thumbs up, and he flew away into the night.

"We'll definitely be official Buck Douglas space spotters now!" James said excitedly.

"I don't think we will," Norman replied with an air of sadness.

 _You're right, Norman. You won't._

Going around behind the alien, I grabbed hold of the top of its head, and I pulled up hard. Sure enough, a mask popped off to reveal...

"Buck Douglas!" everyone, except Norman, gasped.

"Him off the telly!" Mike added, pointing to Buck.

"But if Buck Douglas is the little green man..." Elvis began. "Who is...? I mean... What if he...? But if...? If he's on the... With the... Right, I don't understand." He gave up in defeat.

 _Time to explain to everyone exactly what I guessed was going on._ "Buck Douglas has been camping out in the woods, and _faking_ all the alien sightings in Pontypandy, Elvis."

"He's been flying drones around to look like spaceships, just like Joe and Bella's pizza delivery ones," Norman added crossly. "They used the same batteries, that's how I worked it out. He's just a big liar!"

Elvis gasped as he finally realised what had been going on right under his nose.

"He must've been doing that all over the country!" Penny exclaimed.

"And he's been getting us to buy his stupid book, so we'd look in all the right places!" Norman continued.

"Which is why he always gets sightings of aliens for his show," I added. Penny stepped closer to Buck, so she could look him square in the eye. "And more people watching it!"

I tightened my grip around Buck's arm. _You in for it big time, mate!_ "Well done, Norman!" I praised. I patted his head. "You found the truth!"

"Well, I knew it was out there, somewhere, Sam!" Norman replied.

I tightened my grip even more around Buck's arm. "Is there anything you want to say to the people of Pontypandy, Mr Douglas?" I asked him sternly. _I wish I was allowed to have handcuffs. I would thoroughly enjoy putting them around his wrists right now! I wonder if that's how the police feel sometimes, after they've arrested someone they have a personal grudge against?_ Obviously, I hadn't forgotten about his 'interview'.

Buck glanced despondently down at the ground. Clearly, he was trying to think of something to say. James and Mandy folded their arms impatiently, while Ben and Mike held up their phones, ready to snap a photo of him.

"This is so...not space-tastic," Buck finally moaned as he sank onto the ground, defeated. However, I kept a firm grip on his arm, just in case.

"You can say that again," Elvis said.

Norman went and stood in front of his friends. "We don't need to be official Buck Douglas space spotters." He turned to face Buck. "I'm going to start my own show! Norman Price – Alien Finder!"

I chuckled. _Well, it'll be interesting to see just how badly that goes!_ "Come on, everyone! Let's get back to Pontypandy." I made Buck stand up, and I lead him over to Neptune. "I think this is the end of your career, Mr Douglas," I told him firmly as I pushed him on board Neptune. "The police don't take kindly to fraudsters."

Buck seethed crossly while I fitted a life vest around him. Then, I radioed Station Officer Steele.

"Station Officer Steele? It's Sam. You can put the call through to the Cardiff police force now. We have all the evidence we need. Oh, and keep an eye out for the cameraman too, please. We'll need to have him arrested as well."

" _Roger that, Sam!_ "


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 9

I pushed Buck down onto one of Neptune's passenger seats. "Now, you just sit tight, Mr Douglas," I told him firmly as I put on a life vest. "We'll be back in Pontypandy before you know it."

I turned to help Ben and Elvis get on board Neptune as well. Penny was already on board, and she started up the motor. Behind me, I heard a 'splash!' Turning back around, I saw Buck swimming away, heading out to sea.

 _Oh, Great Fires of London! That's just perfect!_ I quickly removed my firefighting helmet, and I tied Neptune's anchor rope around my waist. "Pull me back in when I give the signal!" I told Elvis, Ben and Penny. Then, I dived into the water.

My firefighting uniform was really heavy once it had soaked up some water. Luckily, my life vest kept me afloat. Buck didn't have a life vest on yet, so his ridiculous alien costume started dragging him down. Swimming strongly, I managed to reach him in just a few strokes. As expected, Buck put up a fight. He splashed water in my face, and then he kicked my leg. As soon as he paused for a breath, I grabbed him around his waist.

"Okay, Ben!" I shouted, since I wasn't able to reach my radio.

I felt the rope tighten, so I lay on my back in the water. Buck continued trying to fight me, but I simply locked my hands together, preventing any further escapes.

As soon as we reached Neptune, Ben and Elvis dragged Buck back on board, while Penny helped me out of the water. I accepted the blanket Penny handed to me.

"Well, Buck! That was a stupid thing for you to do!" I reprimanded him. "Elvis? See if you can find some zip-ties. Ben? Could you put a life vest on Buck, please?"

"Sure, Sam," Ben said, and he forced Buck into a life vest.

Elvis handed me a couple of zip-ties. "What do you want these for, Sam?"

"Handcuffs," I replied simply, as I began tying Buck's hands together.

"You can't arrest me!" Buck Douglas protested. "This is illegal! You're only a fireman, not a policeman!"

"Well, since Pontypandy doesn't have a police force, we do have the authority to detain people until the police get here," I replied firmly, as I finished securing the zip-ties. "There now! That should keep you quiet until we hand you over to the police."

"You'll pay for this, Fireman Sam!" Buck hissed.

I rolled my eyes. "Let's go, Penny. Ben? We'll drop you off with Titan. I'm going to need Elvis' help keeping Buck restrained."

"Understood, Sam," Ben replied.

After we'd dropped Ben off with Titan, Penny drove Neptune back to the quay. Mike and the kids were already making their way back in the skiffs. Naturally, we overtook them.

"Ben?" I radioed. "Can you please ensure that Mike and the kids make it safely back to shore?"

"Roger that, Sam."

As we approached the quay, I could see the rest of the townsfolk still watching from the road. Seeing blue and red lights, I guessed that the Cardiff police force had arrived.

Sure enough, as Penny secured Neptune to the mooring, four police officers came down the stairs.

"I'm Inspector Harrison," one of the policemen said. "I believe we're here to arrest a fraudster?"

"I'm Fireman Jones," I replied, using my official title since this was official business. "And, yes. Mr Buck Douglas is the man we've detained, and as the lead fireman of the Pontypandy fire service, I'm happy to hand him over to your authority."

Inspector Harrison looked straight at Buck. "And I'm guessing that you are Mr Buck Douglas?"

In desperation, Buck stood up, and he shoulder-slammed me in the chest, hard.

"Oof!" I exclaimed as I staggered backwards and lost my balance. Luckily, Elvis and Penny managed to restrain Buck, while I stood up again. My life vest had prevented me from being winded, but I knew I'd probably have a massive bruise on my chest by morning.

"Yes, this is Mr Douglas," Penny confirmed. "Nice going, Buck! You've just added 'assaulting a firefighter' to your list of criminal charges. I believe the maximum penalty for that is five-thousand pounds, is it not, Inspector Harrison?"

Inspector Harrison nodded grimly. Buck gulped nervously.

"He was being too rough with me," he muttered pitifully.

I rolled my eyes. "That's no excuse, Buck, and I was hardly touching you at the time!"

"All right, I think it's time we got the paperwork sorted out now," Inspector Harrison said. "Hold out your hands, Mr Douglas. You are under arrest for committing acts of fraud, and for assaulting a firefighter. It is my job to inform you that you have the right to remain silent, and anything you do say will be held against you in court."

I watched on with satisfaction as Inspector Harrison placed real handcuffs around Buck's wrists. Then, the police marched him up the stairs to the waiting police cars.

"We'll go to the fire station for now," Inspector Harrison said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Everyone who wishes to make a statement against Mr Douglas, please head there immediately."

I turned to Penny and Elvis. "I guess we'd better get Neptune back inside the Ocean Rescue Centre. They'll be wanting statements from us first."

"Oh! I've never given a police statement before!" Elvis said excitedly.

 _That, I can believe!_

...

The fire station was a hive of activity by the time Penny, Elvis and I arrived back. Most of the townsfolk were more than happy to provide evidence against Buck Douglas, owing to the way he'd tricked them all. Mike was particularly keen to provide the police with everything he'd witnessed. I'd taken the time to stop at home for a few minutes, so I could remove my damp firefighting uniform, and change into a dry station uniform.

"Ah! There you are, Fireman Jones," Inspector Harrison said as soon as I'd parked Mercury inside the garage. He waited until I'd removed my quad-bike helmet and climbed down before he continued. "Station Officer Steele told me that you have numerous pictures that we could use as evidence against Mr Douglas. I'd also like to get your statement as soon as possible."

"Of course, Inspector Harrison. I'll just get a drink, and then I'll fetch my external hard drive. I have all of the pictures backed up onto it. I can meet you in the Control Room."

"Excellent! I'll meet you there in five minutes."

At that moment, a Newtown fire tender pulled into the driveway, and Chief Fire Officer Boyce got out.

"Fireman Sam? What on earth is going on here?"

I sighed tiredly. "Sorry, sir, but I can't tell you anything until I've given my statement to the police."

"Oh! I see. Er...where is Station Officer Steele?"

"Upstairs, I believe." I hurried away before he could ask me any further questions. _I'm under police orders at the moment, so Chief Fire Officer Boyce's orders have to be ignored until the police have finished gathering evidence._

Five minutes later, I entered the Control Room, to find Station Officer Steele talking to Chief Fire Officer Boyce and Inspector Harrison.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, sirs," I said, saluting them all.

"Not at all, Sam," Station Officer Steele replied tiredly.

I handed my external hard drive over to Inspector Harrison. "The photos are in a folder called 'Alien Quest'."

"Thank you, Fireman Jones. I'll take a look at them after I've received your statement. It sounds as though you were onto Mr Douglas right from the beginning."

"Well, not quite, sir, but I did notice that a lot of things didn't quite add up."

"Let's sit down," Inspector Harrison invited gesturing to a couple of chairs. "I have a feeling that your statement could take me a few hours to write down, and we might as well be comfortable. I hope you don't mind your bosses witnessing your statement?"

"Not at all," I replied, smiling at them. "Just out of curiosity, where is Mr Douglas now?"

"He's already on his way to Cardiff. Unfortunately, his cameraman has fled town already, but we've already issued a warrant for his arrest. Now, let's begin..."

 **Thank you very much for your patience, everyone. I'm sorry it's taken me a few days to update. I had an allergic reaction to a fern last Friday (I'm highly allergic to them), and so I had to rest for a few days. What I've just written for chapter 9 was my third draft, and it's taken me about 3 days to write. I'm telling you that so that those of you who simply read FanFiction stories without writing any can understand just how long it takes us to write these stories for your enjoyment. We do this for free, in our own time, so to constantly receive 'where is the next chapter?' reviews, is extremely off-putting. I'm sorry I had to say this here, but the message doesn't seem to be getting through to some people when I PM them, so I figured a public statement might help.**

 **Thank you to the rest of you who have actually commented on the story itself! I really do appreciate proper feedback on the stories I write. I love reading everyone's reactions to particular scenes and incidents.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 10

It was two a.m. by the time I finally got home. Unfortunately, thanks to social media, the news of Buck Douglas' arrest had already circulated around the country three times by then. Somehow, the media was also crediting me with his arrest, so Station Officer Steele had sent me home to rest. We both knew that I would have a long few days ahead of me. Little did we realise then just how long those few days would be!

Sure enough, when my alarm went off at eight-thirty a.m., I saw a swarm of journalists gathered outside the fire station. I can't deny that a few choice four-letter-words went through my mind, but they were words I'd never say aloud.

While I was eating my breakfast, my mobile phone rang. I answered it as soon as I saw that it was Station Officer Steele phoning.

"Morning, sir."

" _Morning, Sam. Have you seen what's on our front doorstep this morning?_ "

"Yes, sir. I don't suppose we could get them to move along? You know how much I hate the media."

" _Much as I'd like to, there's nothing we can do about them. However, Chief Fire Officer Boyce and Inspector Harrison are on their way back here. They can deal with the media, while we carry on with our work._ "

I breathed a small sigh of relief. "Let's just hope we don't have any emergencies today. I don't think I'll be able to cope having the media following us everywhere."

" _This is a major media story, Sam. It's on the morning news._ "

I turned on my TV so I could see for myself. Sure enough, the news of Buck Douglas' arrest was all over the headlines, along with an earthquake somewhere in south-eastern Europe.

"I had no idea Buck was such a big news story."

" _He's a multi-millionaire, Sam, and he made his fortune solely from his TV show. Now, he stands to lose it all. He also had millions of fans. I used the past tense for obvious reasons._ "

I snorted a laugh. "I'll be at work shortly, sir. We can discuss this more then."

" _Of course. Oh, Elvis wants to know if he needs to save you any breakfast?_ "

"No, I'm eating mine right now. But I wouldn't mind a cup of tea when I arrive."

" _I'll tell him. See you shortly, Sam._ "

Somehow, I managed to sneak into the back of the fire station without being seen. The last thing I wanted the media to know was that I lived right behind the fire station. _Thank goodness the garage doors are closed! It'd be terrible if those journalists tried to get in here…_

I found everyone upstairs in the TV area, watching the morning news. Elvis promptly handed me a steaming hot cup of tea.

"Here you go, Sam! Did you know that you're all over the news this morning? You're almost as famous as Buck Douglas now!"

 _At least it's for the right reasons…_ "Thanks for the tea, Elvis." I took a sip. Seeing that everyone had gone back to watching the TV, I headed downstairs to the Control Room.

Station Officer Steele looked up as I entered. "Ah! There you are, Sam. I have a job for you, and everyone else, to keep you all busy today. Equipment check."

I smiled as I took the clipboard Station Officer Steele held out to me. "At least it's a job we can do away from the media's prying eyes."

"Precisely! That's why I decided it needed to be done today. You'd better get started, since it'll probably take you all day."

"Yes, sir."

I finished my cup of tea before I returned upstairs. After I'd placed the empty cup in the sink, I returned to the TV area. I raised my eyebrows when I saw the others still intently watching the TV. Seeing the remote on the sofa's armrest, I picked it up, and I turned off the TV.

At that precise moment, the alarm went off. _Perfect timing,_ I thought as I bolted over to the nearest fireman's pole.

" _There's a boy stuck up a tree in Pontypandy Park!_ " Station Officer Steele announced over the loudspeakers.

As soon as I'd slid down the pole to the garage floor, I hit the ground running. Penny and Arnold had followed me down the pole, which meant that Ellie and Elvis had decided they wouldn't be needed for this emergency. The three of us quickly put on our firefighting uniforms. As soon as I was ready, I grabbed my helmet, and I ran over to Jupiter.

Once Penny and Arnold were also on board, I activated the automatic roller door from inside Jupiter's cab, and I started her up. However, as soon as I drove Jupiter out of the garage, we were immediately swamped by the journalists. They began filming and taking photos.

 _Can't they hear the sirens?_ I thought furiously as I hammered Jupiter's horn repeatedly, in a vain effort to get them to move out of the way.

"Be careful, Sam!" Penny warned.

"I'm doing my best," I muttered through gritted teeth. "Oh, Great Fires of London! Just get out of the way!"

Finally, the crowd of journalists moved back just enough to enable me to get Jupiter through. I breathed a sigh of relief as I accelerated towards the park. Then, I picked up the radio handset. "Sam to Station Officer Steele. When Inspector Harrison arrives, see if he can do something about those journalists. They just blocked us from exiting the fire station."

" _I saw that, Sam. Don't worry. They can all expect to receive hefty fines for doing that._ "

I put the handset back. Moments later, we arrived at the scene in the park. I saw Sarah, James, Mandy and Hannah gathered around the base of a large tree, which told me exactly what I needed to know.

 _It's Norman… Again!_ Sighing, I jumped down from the cab, and I jogged over to the tree.

"Heeeelp!" Norman screamed.

"He's a long way up," I mused as I took in the situation. "But at least he's on a stable branch. Penny? Stabilise Jupiter. We'll need to use the ladder."

Before long, I'd successfully rescued Norman, and we were back on solid ground again.

"Thank you, Fireman Sam," Norman said gratefully.

"That's all right, Norman. But, what on earth were you doing up there?"

"He was looking for aliens for his show," Mandy answered crossly.

I rolled my eyes. "Aren't you tired of looking for aliens by now, Norman?"

"Of course not, Fireman Sam! I'm going to find a real alien, and then we'll see who's the best alien spotter in Pontypandy!"

I groaned before returning to Jupiter's cab. "I can't wait for the school holidays to be over," I muttered as I closed the door.

"I'm with you there, Sam!" Penny agreed as she and Arnold also climbed into the cab.

I started up Jupiter, and I turned her around for the short drive back to the fire station. Minutes later, I paused Jupiter at an intersection to check for oncoming traffic.

"Look out!" Arnold suddenly shouted, and he ducked.

 _CRASH!_

I ducked as well, but I was too late. Something solid hit the right-hand side of my helmet, and I promptly blacked out.

 **Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been busy, what with getting back home, unpacking, and sorting out everything that happened while I was away. However, I don't apologise for ending this chapter on a cliff-hanger. I really enjoy doing that! *Insert evil laugh!* I did have a lot of difficulty writing this chapter, and the next, because my initial idea would've meant raising the age rating. However, I'm now happy with what I've came up with as an alternative.**

 **Guest: You need to create an account, so we can pm each other. I'm not sure if you realise that reviews can be read by everyone, and I don't feel comfortable revealing private information here. I would like to be able to respond to what you wrote, but I won't do so here.**

 **Amy S: I have considered doing something like that, but I've had about 5 request stories/ideas already, and I'd like to get them done first (if I can remember them all, lol!).**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 11

When I awoke, I found myself lying across Jupiter's bench seat, covered in fragments of broken glass from the driver's side window. Jupiter's engine had been turned off. Penny was crouched in the passenger-side foot-well beside me, tenderly feeling my wrist for my pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw me open my eyes.

"What happened?"

"Just relax, Sam," Penny soothed. "Helen's on her way. You were hit on the helmet by a large rock that was thrown through the window."

I raised a hand to touch my aching forehead, surprised to find that I was still wearing my helmet. Obviously, Penny had done the right thing by not moving me any more than necessary. "Who on earth would do a thing like that?"

"It was Buck's cameraman. Arnold saw him throw the rock. He called out a warning, but it all happened so fast. Arnold chased after him, but he lost him down an alleyway."

Arnold peeked into the cab. "How is he, Penny?"

"He's awake, and asking questions," Penny replied.

Arnold also breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Station Officer Steele said that he, Inspector Harrison and Chief Fire Officer Boyce are on their way here now. They're bringing Radar."

I attempted to sit up, but Penny firmly pushed me back down. "Don't move, Sam."

At that moment, we heard a siren rapidly approaching. I groaned as my head began throbbing painfully in reaction to the loud siren, and I reached up to touch it again.

"Helen's here," Arnold announced.

 _Good. I just hope she says that I'll be okay after a rest._

Penny jumped down from the cab to give Helen some room. "Sam's awake and talking now," Penny informed Helen.

"That's a good sign," Helen replied, and she climbed into the cab. "How are you feeling, Sam?"

"My head hurts a bit," I admitted. "Can I sit up, please?"

"Not yet." Helen also felt my wrist for my pulse for a moment. Then she smiled warmly. "You're remarkable relaxed, considering what's just happened to you. Don't you ever panic?"

I smiled slightly. "We're trained not to, no matter what happens."

Helen nodded. "I know. Now, since this is a head injury, I need to ask you a few questions to test your memory. What's your full name, including your middle name?"

I sighed heavily before answering. "Samuel Peyton Jones."

"Date of birth?"

Seeing that Penny and Arnold were listening, I frowned. "Do I have to answer that?"

"Yes, but you can whisper it to me. I have it all in your medical records anyway."

"I know that, but I don't want to others to know how old I am," I said. Then, I whispered the answer in Helen's ear.

"Good. My final question is, what is your brother's name?"

"Charlie."

"Excellent! Now, try to stay still while I take off your helmet…"

Helen carefully removed my helmet. Penny handed her a soft, folded towel, which she then placed under my head. A small sigh escaped my lips as I settled down onto my temporary pillow. Helen expertly examined my head, feeling the area where I was hit. It didn't hurt, but it was a little tender, like a bruise. Seeing no reaction from me, Helen smiled.

"You're very lucky, Sam. Your helmet saved you from any serious injury. You might be a bit dizzy for a few hours, but I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm happy to let you sit up now, if you like."

I did so, just as Station Officer Steele, Chief Fire Officer Boyce and Inspector Harrison arrived in a police car, along with Radar. They ran over to Jupiter.

"How is he?" Station Officer Steele anxiously demanded to know.

Penny held up my helmet. "Given the size of the dent in his helmet, he's lucky he was wearing it at the time!"

"Where's the rock that was thrown?" Inspector Harrison asked.

"It's still in the foot-well on the driver's side," Arnold replied. "We haven't touched it."

"Good! I'll let Radar sniff it, and we'll see if he can track down who threw it."

"It's was Buck Douglas' cameraman," Arnold said. "I don't know what his name is though."

"Don't worry," Inspector Harrison reassured us. "His name will be in the credits of Alien Quest. Okay, Radar. Sniff that rock."

While Radar was sniffing the rock, Helen and I climbed down from Jupiter's cab. Helen was right. I did feel a little bit dizzy, so I leaned up against Jupiter until my head had cleared. Hearing Radar bark, I knew he'd picked up the scent.

"Good luck, Radar," I whispered as he led Inspector Harrison and Arnold away down the road.

…

Penny drove Jupiter back to the fire station. I got a lift back with Helen in her ambulance. I was surprised to see that the journalists had dispersed. I later found out that Inspector Harrison had fined all of them for impeding an emergency vehicle, and he'd ordered them to leave town.

"Oh, no!" Elvis wailed upon seeing Jupiter's broken window. "Poor Jupiter! I hope Radar catches the awful man who did this to you!"

 _At least it was only a window_. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I hope they catch him too, Elvis. In the meantime, someone will have to vacuum up all that glass."

"I'll do it!" Elvis eagerly volunteered.

"Just be very careful, Elvis," Helen advised. "I don't want to be treating you for any glass cuts. Come with me, Sam. You need to rest."

I followed Helen into the sick bay, where I could lie down for a while. Helen studied my eyes for a moment. I knew she was looking for possible signs of concussion.

"I think you'll be okay to have a nap," she told me. "Even if you don't feel tired, you do need to rest after a knock like that. I'll stay here to keep an eye on you, just in case."

I nodded as I laid down on the nearest bed. "Thanks, Helen. Sorry if I haven't been very cooperative. I'm not used to being the victim in an emergency."

"I understand. Don't worry. There's only so much you can be taught in training. I was very pleased to see that Penny and Arnold did exactly the right thing, which probably prevented your injury from being worse."

…

I slept for about an hour. I would've slept for longer, but Helen gently shook me awake.

"Sorry, Sam, but Inspector Harrison is demanding to see you upstairs."

I sat up slowly. "Thanks, Helen. I suppose I mustn't keep him waiting."

Upstairs, I found everyone gathered around the kitchen table. Three police sergeants were standing off to one side, talking quietly. I went over to Inspector Harrison. But before I could say anything, Radar barked in greeting, and he placed his front paws up on my upper legs. I patted his head fondly.

"Hello, Radar. How did you go?"

Radar barked twice in response.

"Well, thanks for telling me, but I'm afraid I don't speak dog." I looked up at Inspector Harrison. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Fireman Jones. I trust you're feeling better now?"

"Much better, sir. Did Radar track down the cameraman?"

"Sadly, no. He lost the scent when Buck's cameraman swam into the ocean. We had no other choice but to give up the search. It seems his name is Damian Lievers. We've issued a search warrant for his arrest. Now, I'm afraid this attack on you means that Damian is desperate to silence you."

I was confused. "What do you mean by 'silence me'?"

"Since you're one of the principle witnesses in the Buck Douglas case, we believe that Damian is trying to stop you from testifying."

I gasped softly. "So, what happens now?"

"I'm going to assign Sargent Brigalow to you as a body guard."

 _What?_ "But, I don't need a body guard!"

"Sorry, Sam, but this isn't a choice," Chief Fire Officer Boyce interjected. "You will have a body guard, whether you like it or not. At least Sargent Brigalow will be armed to protect you from further attacks from Damian."

"I don't need protection! I just want to do my job!" I was starting to get angry now, because I could see what this was leading to. Everyone was watching us now.

"Well, I'm afraid you can't," Chief Fire Officer Boyce told me firmly. "You will have to do paperwork until it's safe for you to return to the front line."

 _I knew it! It's not fair!_ I stormed over to the kitchen bench to pour myself a cup of tea, but my hands were trembling so much from rage, that I accidentally dropped my empty cup into the sink. It shattered into about ten pieces.

Fuming, and with tears blurring my eyes, I hurried towards the stairs. However, I froze as soon as I heard Chief Fire Officer Boyce's voice behind me.

"I haven't dismissed you yet, Fireman Jones."

I drew in a few deep breaths to try and get a hold of myself, but I didn't turn around. I couldn't bear to let everyone see me cry.

Someone approached me. "I'll take care of this, sir," Station Officer Steele said quietly. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Come with me, Sam."

I followed Station Officer Steele downstairs to the Control Room. He closed the door behind me. As soon as we were alone, I let my tears flow. Out of all my colleagues, Station Officer Steele was the only one who'd ever seen me cry, so I felt no shame in crying in front of him. He was also my confidant whenever I needed someone to talk to, because he was one of the few people I knew who understood just how stressful being the lead fireman could be. After all, he'd been Pontypandy's lead fireman when I was undergoing my basic training in Cardiff.

Station Officer Steele kindly offered me his chair, which I accepted. "Thank you, sir."

"I know you're scared, Sam, but that's why Sargent Brigalow has been assigned to you. Next time, it might not be a rock…"

I nodded slowly as I wiped my tears away. "I'm not concerned about my safety, sir. It's the unfairness of being trapped in here, while Damian walks free. He needs to be caught, and quickly. And, I'd rather have Radar as a bodyguard, if I must have one. He would do anything for me."

"I know, Sam, but we can't go against police orders. You'll just have to put up with it."

 **Thank you everyone for your feedback. I should (again) point out that the events from Chapter 9 onwards are my own original ideas, and they DO NOT appear in the movie. I'm glad you're all enjoying the story still. I think the next chapter will probably be the last, but I won't know for sure until I've finished writing it.**

 **Guest: Creating an account is easy. You just click on login/sign up and follow the prompts.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.**

Chapter 12

 _Right… That's those reports done. Now, what's next? Oh, yes. The vehicle maintenance check sheets…_ I sighed despondently when I saw the pile of papers stacked up on my desk. _When is this going to be over?_

Glancing up from my computer, I saw Sargent Brigalow standing over at the nearby window, looking out at the Pontypandy landscape. It was the next day, and ever since Sargent Brigalow had been assigned to me as my bodyguard, he hadn't let me out of his sight for more than a few minutes.

 _At least I had night duty last night, so I didn't need to go home. Edward might be a nice guy, but I don't like having my privacy invaded._

Sargent Brigalow and I were all alone upstairs, because everyone else was downstairs undergoing a training exercise at the training tower. I wished with all my heart that I could join them, but Sargent Brigalow wouldn't let me, for my own safety.

I'd just returned my attention to my computer, when the alarm went off. I instinctively leapt up to respond, but then I felt a firm hand land on my shoulder.

"Sorry, Sam, but you have to stay here," Sargent Brigalow reminded me.

With a reluctant sigh, I sat back down at my desk.

" _Mike Flood has gone off the road, and his van is bogged,_ " Station Officer Steele announced over the loudspeakers.

 _Well, at least that's something the others can easily handle,_ I thought as I went over to the window. Looking out, I watched as Jupiter disappeared down the road, sirens blaring.

"Sam? Come away from the window, please."

I spun around abruptly, and I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something I might regret. Instead, I started pacing around in the kitchen to try and calm down. _This is completely unfair! I wish I hadn't caught Buck Douglas now._

Station Officer Steele joined us then, and he went over to Sargent Brigalow. "Why is Sam pacing?" he asked in a low whisper.

Sargent Brigalow shrugged. "He's been rather restless all morning."

"I see… You know, he doesn't like being cooped up inside. Why don't you both take Radar for a walk?"

I stopped pacing. "I can hear you, sir. And I think that's an excellent idea!"

"But…" Sargent Brigalow started to protest, but then he gave up in defeat. "All right. I suppose it can't hurt. Especially if we're with other people. Damian won't try anything if there are witnesses around." He took out his pistol to check that it was fully loaded.

"If you must use a weapon to detain someone, I'd prefer a Taser," I said as I looked at the pistol.

"I prefer Tasers too, but sometimes a gun can be more convincing. Tasers don't always work. It's better to be safe than sorry."

I nodded as I picked up Radar's lead. "Well, that's something I can't disagree with! Do you need anything from the shop, sir?"

"No. You just go and get some fresh air. And stay safe."

"I will, sir."

Sargent Brigalow and I headed downstairs. We found Radar sleeping on the bench in the locker area. I shook the lead.

"Radar? Wake up! Walkies!"

Radar leapt up, and he bolted over to me. Seeing Sargent Brigalow, he growled threateningly.

"Sorry, Edward," I apologised as I clipped the lead onto Radar's collar. "Radar isn't too comfortable with strangers."

"That's okay. At least he's a good guard dog."

I smiled, and I stroked Radar's head. "He's trained in search and rescue, but yes, he is quite good as a guard dog too. He'd do anything to protect me."

"So, is he your dog, or the fire service's?"

"He belongs to the Pontypandy fire service, but I was involved in his early training a lot, so I'm his handler mostly. Anyway, he's getting impatient, so we'd better get going. Oh! I'd better bring his Frisbee along, so we can play."

…

Before long, Sargent Brigalow and I were playing a game of Frisbee with Radar in the park. The children were enjoying a refreshing swim in the pool nearby, so Sargent Brigalow had started to relax.

"I can't believe how calm you are, Sam," he said as I threw the Frisbee high into the air for Radar. "Most people who are assigned a body guard completely fall to pieces with worry."

"I'm not worried about Damian. Why should I be? I've faced things far more dangerous than a man who's out for revenge."

Sargent Brigalow raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? What kind of things?"

"Almost falling down a ravine inside a cave… Nearly being swept away by floodwater… Being swallowed by the ground… Skiing onto the roof of a runaway train that was also on fire… Would you like me to keep going?"

"Don't forget the time you rescued me from the coal mine!" Norman shouted behind us.

I chuckled. "Nobody likes an eavesdropper, Norman."

"Why is that policeman with you, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked.

I turned to look at the kids. "We're just giving Radar some exercise." _It's better if they don't know the truth._

"We can do that!" Norman exclaimed, and he climbed out of the pool.

I held up a hand. "Thank you, Norman, but we can manage. You just stay in the pool. At least while you're in there, I know where you are."

Norman bomb-dived back into the pool, splashing everyone. I sighed as I wiped the water off my station uniform.

"Well, that was refreshing! Radar! Wait! Come back! No! Don't jump into the…"

 _SPLASH!_

 _Oh, Great Fires of London!_ "Radar! I never said you could go for a swim!"

The children laughed and squealed with delight as Radar swam happily around them.

…

Later, Sargent Brigalow and I were walking Radar back to the fire station, when he suddenly stopped and started sniffing the air. I crouched down beside him.

"What is it, boy?" I whispered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sargent Brigalow slowly draw his Taser. "Don't move, Sam," he whispered so softly I almost didn't hear him. "Damian's close…"

I subtly moved my hand to the clip on Radar's lead, ready to release him at a second's notice. Looking around, I saw a shadow on the path ahead of us.

"Damian's hiding around that corner," I whispered.

Sargent Brigalow nodded. I heard a soft growl coming from Radar, and he crouched, ready to attack.

"Hold Radar," Sargent Brigalow instructed. Taking a deep breath, he walked silently towards the corner.

 _Please be careful!_

Sargent Brigalow stayed on the outer edge of the footpath, so he could catch Damian off-guard. Turning abruptly, he aimed his Taser at chest height. "PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM, AND LIE DOWN ON THE GROUND!"

Hearing the shouting, Radar promptly began barking and jumping around excitedly. It took all of my strength to hold him back. _For a medium-sized dog, he sure is strong!_

"I SAID, LIE DOWN ON THE GROUND! Hurry up, or we'll release the dog! And don't even think about running! STOP! STOP, OR I'LL TASER YOU!"

I heard a soft 'Bang!' as the Taser was discharged, followed by Damian's scream of pain. Radar and I started running. When we rounded the corner, I saw Damian lying in the middle of the street, writhing in agony from the electric shock. Sargent Brigalow was removing his handcuffs from his belt.

"Sam? This is a two-man job. Could you hold onto the Taser, while I put the handcuffs on our friend here? Be careful not to squeeze the trigger. It'll send out another charge if you do."

"Don't tempt me!"

I watched on with satisfaction as Sargent Brigalow secured the handcuffs. Then, he removed the Taser barbs. Damian yelped and swore violently, but Sargent Brigalow managed to keep him restrained with just one hand.

"Right… Now, Mr Lievers! I'm arresting you on the charges of committing acts of fraud, malicious assault on a firefighter, and resisting and evading police. I must warn you that anything you say will be used against you as evidence. Now, I need to radio my colleagues, and then you'll be going for a nice ride to the Cop Shop in Cardiff."

While Sargent Brigalow was on the radio, he kept Damian from running by pinning him down with his knee and one hand. However, I believe it was Radar's constant, threatening growling that kept Damian quiet. As soon as Sargent Brigalow had finish his radio conversation, I radioed Station Officer Steele.

"Sam to Station Officer Steele."

" _Reading you, Sam._ "

"It's over, sir."

" _What do you mean?_ _What's over?_ "

"Mr Lievers has been successfully arrested, sir."

I heard Station Officer Steele breathe a sigh of relief. " _That's brilliant news, Sam! I hope you weren't involved in the arrest…_ "

I chuckled. "No, sir! All credit goes to Sargent Brigalow. I just held Radar back. He'd have torn Damian apart if I'd giving him the chance."

" _I wish he had!_ " Station Officer Steele muttered. " _Good work, Sam._ "

"Thank you, sir. I'll be back at the fire station shortly. Out."

…

Two hours later, I watched from an upstairs window as Damian Lievers was man-handled into a police car. _It's over! Finally!_

Someone coughed behind me. Turning, I saw Station Officer Steele, Chief Fire Officer Boyce, Inspector Harrison and Sargent Brigalow standing behind me. Penny, Elvis, Arnold, Ellie and Radar were standing off to one side of the room, watching.

"Well, Sam," Chief Fire Officer Boyce said as he took a step towards me. "It would seem that you no longer require police protection. You can now resume your role on the front line."

"Thank you, sir," I replied with a salute. Then, I shook Sargent Brigalow's hand. "Thank you, Edward."

"You're welcome, Sam. But, I was just doing my job."

"It's a pity you're not in the police force, Fireman Jones," Inspector Harrison said. "We could use a man like you."

Chief Fire Officer Boyce chuckled. "I've been trying to get Sam to transfer to the Newtown fire service for years, so you'll have no hope in getting him to join the police force! Besides, he's far too valuable to us here."

"So, what happens now?" I wondered. "With Buck Douglas, I mean."

"His trial won't happen for several months, so he'll probably be released on bail," Inspector Harrison replied. "We can sort out your court appearances once the trial date has been set. In the meantime, carry on with the good work you're doing here."

"Thank you, sir. I will."

"I think Radar deserves a reward for helping us catch Damian," Sargent Brigalow suggested.

I chuckled. "Don't worry! Elvis? I hope you still have that big, juicy steak in the fridge?"

"Oh, yes, Sam! I'll give it to Radar right now!"

THE END

 **Wow! Thank you for those reviews! I'm so glad you all loved that last chapter, and I hope you like this one just as much. And now that this story is finished, I can finally move on to a new one! Hehe! I'm now intending to continue with the 'Through Sam's Eyes' series, but now I'll focus on the special episodes, starting with 'Snow Business'. I'm also currently working on a request story, but it isn't coming together as nicely as I wanted it to, so I may give up on it entirely in favour of a story I'd prefer to write. I don't really like writing request stories because I feel that it's not my own work, and I don't like letting anyone down.**

 **Guest: It has been over 2 years since I signed up to FanFiction, and since I only did it once (obviously), I don't remember what I did. Most of us would've signed up without any help. It is quite easy. Do you have someone who can help you?**


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